The Anchor Of Family
by Imagination Is A Gift
Summary: After Elijah, Rebekah and Klaus are rid of Hayley Marshall and the baby, a plan emerges to bring back their beloved brothers, Kol and Finn. Caroline Forbes chooses the possibility of loving Klaus and Elijah goes after Katherine and they begin to hope for good luck. But all they get are enemies. Mostly the Mikaelsons with Klaroline and Kalijah in later chapters. AntiHayley AntiBaby
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter ONE**

 **Monday 12/09**

 **8:09am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

Once again, an argument broke out among the people who claim the mansion to be their home. But this fight, this harsh exclamations of vile words and insults were more serious than any other petty bullying the siblings exchanged.

Hayley Marshall had finally been called out, her crimes were finally being held against her and her lies were not going to be justified. It was time she got what she deserved and Klaus Mikaelson was ready to give that to her.

For the foetus taking refuge in her womb had finally been tested by cutesy of Rebekah Mikaelson, and the results of this test had classified the paternal family of the unborn child, and they were not the Mikaelsons.

When Klaus had first found out about the baby, the first thing he did was accuse Hayley of being with another man, and he had discovered to be right. Klaus usually loved being right, but not in this situation. Here, he wished he had been wrong. Hayley had spent the last few months of her life with them, and that had been long enough for Klaus to plan out a nursery, for Klaus to buy and read a dozen books that focused on the deeds of fathers, for him to even sign up for a class. He had been allowed to listen to the baby girl's heartbeat and see the bump gradually grow. He had been allowed to fall in love with an unborn baby, which would have been normal for any father, except the baby wasn't even his.

He loved to be right, but he hated to be mislead. Hayley had tricked them all and he was livid enough to make her pay in the worst possible way.

Unfortunately he first had to deal with her begging for his forgiveness.

"I needed protection," she cried, backing further and further away from him, into the wall of the kitchen while clutching her stomach. "The real father... I needed something from him and sleeping with him was the only way to get it out of him!"

"So you're not only a liar," Rebekah, his beloved sister, spat from his left, "but a prostitute as well? How truly despicable!"

Hayley gawked at Rebekah as if she didn't believe the 1000 year old Original Vampire had the nerve to be so obnoxious as to pick on a teenage werewolf. Then she gave Rebekah a patronizing look, as if her motives were cute. Rebekah returned it, simply. "How is it any better," Hayley said, "to sleep with your brother's arch-rival simply to be queen of some pathetic, hipster-filled city?"

"I slept with Marcel because I had feelings for him," Rebekah said. "He never paid me anything. Now, however, I realise how deluded I was to care for him. You, on the other hand, haven't yet realised how prostitution and lying puts you in the wrong!"

Elijah, Klaus and Rebekah's brother, had not yet made an appearance in this argument. He certainly knew the truth behind Hayley's lies, but over the months he had developed feelings for the little wolf, so apparently he chose the more peaceful way of ridding himself of Hayley, and ignored her.

"You're lucky I don't rip your heart out right now, were-bitch," Klaus growled, stepping closer to her. She couldn't back up any further, as she had backed into the wall of the kitchen.

"Why don't you?" Rebekah asked, stepping up with Klaus, supporting her brother. "I would hate to see that Thrift Shop $1.50 cardigan get a blood stain," she added, sarcastically. Klaus smirked, so she continued for his enjoyment. "And, gosh, that t-shirt would go completely to waste. Good thing you kept the packet with the other three in."

Klaus laughed. "Unfortunately, Marshall, I've been robbed of the opportunity to kill you as you carry the child I've unfortunately grown to care for-"

"I needed you to protect me," Hayley blurted out, tears starting to fall down her face as she begun to sunk to the floor. "The father of the baby ... He wants me dead. I needed someone to help me … help the baby! I didn't want to hurt you, but I didn't think you would care!"

"Bullshit," Rebekah exclaimed. "Who are you to make assumptions like that?" Hayley didn't reply but continued to cower at the feet of the two siblings who were actually feeling quite proud of themselves.

They heard footsteps in the hallway and heard the front door being thrown open. Klaus and Rebekah went out to see what Elijah was doing, Klaus dragging Hayley behind them by a chunk of her hair. Elijah stood in the hallway, dressed immaculately in a suit, as always. There were a couple of suitcases by his side, as if he was moving out.

"Elijah, what are you doing?" Rebekah asked, confused. "You're not leaving are you?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Me? No, of course not. I am more than well aware that the two of you would be unable to function without me." Elijah usually wasn't one for arrogance when it came to his siblings, but he saved all of his big-headedness for normal vampires, people who dared to challenge him and Damon Salvatore.

"So to whom to the suitcases belong?" Klaus asked.

Elijah picked up the suitcases and threw them out onto the street with force. "Hayley, of course," he said. He then directed his words to the little wolf at Klaus' feet. "You should undeniably be grateful that I, somewhat unfortunately, have the good grace to let you take your belongings. But we don't particularly want them in this house. We have standards, you know."

Klaus and Rebekah held in laughter, proud of their big brother's insulting glare at Hayley. "Please," Hayley begun to grovel at Elijah. "I know you felt something between us, Elijah! I felt it too! You can't do this to me! You can't let them do this to me. I needed protection! It was the only way. I never wanted to hurt you!"

"But you did," Elijah said, crouching down to look her in the eye. "You hurt my family, and no one hurts them. Unfortunately, I believe strongly against killing pregnant women, so count yourself lucky. Now be gone, you whiny teenager."

"Rebekah," Hayley pleaded, turning to face the blonde, regarding Elijah as useless in terms of saving her. Elijah straightened up, looking down on the wolf with disgust, like his other two siblings. "Rebekah please," Hayley continued. "You said us girls have got to stick together-"

"That was when I thought you were carrying my niece," Rebekah said. "I feel sorry for your child. The poor girl has to grow up with you for a mother. Just leave, Hayley, you're embarrassing yourself."

Hayley blinked back tears, getting to her feet to look at Klaus desperately. "Nik, please," she said. Nobody called him 'Nik' except from Rebekah and his deceased brother, Kol. She was clearly trying to manipulate him into believing she was somebody he cared about. "Nik, you know we had something," she continued, playing the same card as she did with Elijah. "Even if it was just for a second. I know you care about this child, don't make this child have to live on the streets! Nik, please!"

Klaus looked down to her stomach, solemnly, to where the foetus lived, the one he believed would grow into his own daughter. "You're right," Klaus said. "I did care. I do care, about my family. A family that you're not a part of, and never will be. Neither will your child. They say if you love something you should let it go, and Hayley, if you're smart enough to love your own child then you should definitely give her up for adoption and not put her through the misery of being raised by you. But, while you're pregnant..." he reached into his back pocket and brought at his wallet, taking $700 dollars in cash out and throwing it at her, "stay in a motel or something. I hope you don't survive childbirth."

 **Monday 12/09**

 **Noon**

 **Roseau – New Orleans**

Elijah Mikaelson sat on a frayed bar stool in Roseau, the local French bar where his and his family were considered regulars. The bar did have a certain classic appeal to it, lit with the signature orange glow that appeared to illuminate the entire city of New Orleans, Roseau often hosted live Jazz music and served the best Bourbon Elijah had ever tasted. It was, in general, a New Orleans themed, cliché packed bar.

"Well, Hayley was never that good in bed anyway," Klaus said, clearly trying to lift the spirits of his brother while sipping on a glass of Bourbon. Elijah's younger brother seemed to think that Hayley's betrayal was the matter that bought Elijah's mood down, but, in reality, it was the fact that Elijah was now forced to face what lead him to Hayley in the first place. "You're not missing out on much."

"Do you really think so low of me," Elijah begun, drinking out of his own glass, "that you believe my bad mood is caused by the fact that I am not going to be able to have sex with a teenage wolf who had previously slept with you?"

Klaus shook his head, spinning his barstool more towards Elijah so he was facing him a little better. "No," he said. "I believe you had misdirected feelings towards her, and you're sad that she turned out to be a backstabbing bitch."

"While I reject your theory, I do admit that my feelings toward Hayley were misdirected," Elijah said. "In all honesty, Niklaus... you may despise me for what I'm about to say next... but Hayley Marshall was merely a replacement. She was something I could have in comparison to something I couldn't. An easier version of someone I actually wanted."

Klaus nodded, not meeting his brother's gaze. He didn't seem surprised, but in fact appeared as though he suspected as much. "I did wonder how you got over Katerina so quickly. The selfish brat, I say you did quite a good job of replacing her, actually."

"Hayley is nothing like Katherine," Elijah said. "At least not the one I know."

Klaus turned to him, doubtfully. "Let me guess: Katherine had a soft side, one she would only show you. Bullshit."

Elijah nodded. "Indeed, that theory is bullshit. Katherine was cruel, ruthless, evil. I loved that about her. I pretended that I didn't but I did. I thought I could replace her with Marshall, but the wolf was too simple, young, innocent and boring. I'm in bad spirits because I've finally come to terms with the fact that Katerina can never be replaced."

"Deep," Klaus commented. He called the bartender over and ordered a bottle of Bourbon. When the man came back over with a glass bottle, Klaus poured him and his brother a drink. "Go after her then," he said, screwing the lid back onto the bottle. "Katerina. She's still in Mystic Falls, I think. I don't need you here, now that the child's been proven to belong to a different paternal family."

Elijah considered the possibility of Katerina actually excepting any apology he could throw at her and found the thought mute. She would hate him, slap him, yell at him and she wouldn't take him back. Besides, his brother was clearly hurting over the loss of the child he thought to be his own. Rebekah was also mourning the niece that was never hers. He, himself, was upset to have lost the possibility of having a niece. He should stay with his family during those rough times. "No, she's never except me," he said, pretending as though that was the only reason he refused to spontaneously pack up and leave. "Anyway," he continued, anxious to change the subject, "How are you coping with having to except the fact that the child was never yours?"

Klaus shrugged, looking down at his glass. "I never really wanted a child, anyway."

"Really?" Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Out of all of us, I seem to remember you wanting a child more than any of our other siblings. Except, perhaps, Rebekah."

"Yes, but that was when we were young, and human, and innocent," Klaus defended. "No child should be raised with a monster like me as their father. Now everything can go back to normal."

"Yes, except you loved the unborn baby," Elijah said, finishing his own drink and refilling it. "You can't deny that, Niklaus, not to me."

Klaus nodded. "Fine, what if I did? I appear to have a nasty habit of losing everything I love, you see. Finn, Kol, Henrik, Stefan, Caroline... I'll get over it. I always do."

"But you don't," Elijah said. "You never do. You push any feelings you have about the loss of three of your brothers and your best friend deep inside so you never have to face the pain losing them has caused you. You hardly mourn them for fear of seeming weak. It's not weak, Niklaus, it's healthy. As for Miss Forbes... I've seen your sketchbook. There are almost enough sketches in there of her to officially classify you as her own personal stalker. You miss her, you know it and you know that you'll never get over her."

Elijah expected his brother to snap, get angry at him and deny all accusations Elijah held against him. Instead, he just filled his drink up and smirked. "I do believe that you know me a little too well, Elijah."

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "You cease to deny it?"

Klaus nodded. "What is the point, Elijah? You know me enough to refuse to believe me if I were to deny fault."

"It's not fault, Niklaus, it's humanity," he countered.

His brother shrugged. "Doesn't matter what it is, it's still annoying. Where's the point in wasting my time with false denials that you will easily see through when I could be wasting my time drinking my troubles away." Elijah sighed. At least it was improvement. Klaus raised his glass. "To the people we don't need," he said, "and the people we do."

Elijah raised his glass to meet his brothers, making a little 'clink'. "Cheers." The two brothers drank to the toast.

 **Monday 12/09**

 **Noon**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

How very cliché sexist it was that when the boys went out to drink their troubles away, she was the one left behind to clean? Of course, both of Rebekah's brothers were much to gentlemanly and feminist to ask her to do the deed, and to be completely fair, they didn't even know she was doing it, but she didn't see the job being done by anyone else in the near future. She was left in charge of clearing out Hayley's room.

There were a few things Elijah had ceased to pack. Her underwear draw, for one, was untouched. Elijah probably didn't see himself as too polite to leave her knickers alone, but instead felt uncomfortable grabbing handfuls of underwear and shoving them into a suitcase. It clearly wasn't an issue of respecting privacy when he had raided the rest of her room. Unfortunately that left Rebekah doing the job of disposing of the wolf's underwear.

It did give her some comfort to know that somewhere, Hayley was without any clean knickers. Rebekah shoved them all into a black bag, along with her bedsheets, a crochet blanket that lay, forgotten, at the end of the bed; a hideous, rug-like tapestry and a poster of a band that Rebekah had never heard of before.

She then took the bag out and burned the content. She went back up to vacuum and steam-clean the carpet, ridding the room of any dust and stains Hayley had left behind. She cleaned and polished all of the wood that made up the furniture of the room. Hayley had taken terrible care of the guest bedroom and had barely ever cleaned, so Rebekah now had to make up for the work she had lacked with. She cleaned the windows and mirror and dusted every corner. She had to scrunch up her face several times to avoid dust getting in her eyes.

She dressed the bed with new, plain sheets and classified the job officially finished when she noticed a scratch on the bed-side table. She side and got the buffer to try and sought it out. She then had to take down and wash up all of the house's mugs that Hayley had used.

When she finished that, she emptied the sink of the bubbly, soapy water, peeled off the wet, yellow gloves and put everything in the kitchen away. She was feeling quite proud of herself when she finished.

She quickly showered, the harsh job of cleaning often making oneself dirty and changed into something a little less comfortable: skinny jeans; a shirt that left a little too little to the imagination; and boots with heels that astronauts could use to reach the moon. She pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail and strutted downstairs, just as the doorbell rang.

She went over to the door and swung it open, expecting the boys, knowing that they forgot their keys, but instead being greeted by little Davina, who stood very bravely in the threshold.

"What do you want?" Rebekah scowled at the brunette teenager, being completely frustrated with this generation. She also resented Davina for over-powering her when she tried to reclaim Elijah from her possession.

"I have something you might be interested in," Davina said, bravely, looking Rebekah right in the eye.

"And what's that?" Rebekah said, her condescending voice dripping with doubt. Davina seemed to notice that and held her head higher, as if accepting the challenge that Rebekah silently produced.

"A spell."

"A spell?" Rebekah asked, doubtfully. "Well, nice try, but if we needed any magic done, we would have asked. Or compelled. Or threatened. Something along those lines, anyway. Anything else?"

"You didn't ask for this spell because you didn't think it would be possible," Davina smirked. "From any witch or warlock. This is a spell to raise the dead."

Rebekah narrowed her eyes, looking Davina up and down for any trace of lies. "Raise the dead? You? I doubt it, honey. There is no such spell."

"Are you sure?" Davina asked, stepping through the door as if Rebekah ad, or would, invite her inside. "I remember Elijah mentioning a name. Kol, or something? Whatever, all I know is that you have a dead brother, and I'll be able to bring him back. Don't you want to take the chance?"

It was only when Rebekah had provided Davina with a cup of coffee and the two girls sat in the parlour when Davina launched into explanation, not pausing to take so much as a breath to continue her theory.

"For thousands of year, witches have lived, naturally among humans," she started. "It was only when witch created vampire that problems really started. Vampires threw off the balance. Or at least, Originals did. They were unbeatable for a thousand years with nothing but silver daggers and white oak ash that could harm them. They were unnatural and unsafe.

"But then the White-oak-stake was developed. You remember? The one that your mother made in Mystic Falls. Finally, a weapon was made that could bring down an Original once and for all. Permanently. That weapon would balance things out, make the Originals dangerous to humans, but the bearer of the weapon dangerous to Originals. If a normal vampire had the stake, they could bring down an Original, and that person would balance.

"This all basically means that Originals had been neutralised. Nature has grown to accept them... you. Nature has finally excepted your family for as long as the weapon exists in the hands of someone capable of using it."

"What does this have to do with Kol?" Rebekah asked, interrupting what was, in her eyes, a long, boring and pointless story.

"I was just getting there," Davina said. "Basically, now that nature has excepted Kol, if I bring him back to life, there won't be extreme consequences. It'll be like nature is turning a blind eye to me raising the dead."

Rebekah rolled her eyes, crossing her legs. "Okay then, nature doesn't care and at the moment, neither do I. How are you even planning on raising the dead? There is no spell to do so."

"If there is a witch powerful enough," Davina said, "like I am, and some sought of sacrifice, then yes, a person can be bought back to life."

Rebekah looked the sitting girl up and down, examining her from the tips of her toes to the curly brown hairs on her head. "What kind of sacrifice are we talking about?" she wondered, cautiously. If she was forced to sacrifice herself for her younger brother, then honestly, she would kill herself without a doubt in her mind.

But if she had to sacrifice one of her other brothers, Klaus or Elijah, then she wouldn't be able to bring herself to do it. It wasn't a matter of liking her older brothers more than her younger, it was a matter of not being able to chose between them at all.

"I'm pretty sure any sacrifice of a significant life will do," Davina claimed. "Someone in power. Could be a simple human if they were the mayor or something. Somebody powerful."

"Like me?" Rebekah wondered, leaning forward. "If I sacrificed myself for Kol, would it work?"

Davina nodded. "Yeah, probably. But you don't need to. Someone less powerful than you will do. Like I said, it could just be a human."

Rebekah got another idea for the sacrifice. "Camille's uncle, maybe? The preacher?"

Davina nodded, "He might be powerful enough."

Rebekah twirled her thumbs and sipped her coffee, considering the possibilities. A life with Kol in looked like a happy one. She loved her little brother and would literally kill to get him back, living with her, Elijah and Klaus. "Okay, sure," Rebekah said, leaning back into the couch and crossing her arms over her chest. "So we have a fairly guess-filled plan. Where and when will we do this?"

"The full moon," Davina answered almost instantly. "It's a great way of drawing power, and I'll need a lot for a spell like this. As for where? Some place that's excluded. The forest maybe, where no one will see. We'll have to do the spell and the sacrifice at about midnight. Then something alive for Kol to... ah... eat. He'll be hungry, I'm sure."

"Where did you even find this spell?" Rebekah asked, narrowing her eyes. "You didn't tell me this yet."

Davina paused, obviously nervous. "Um... I don't know if he told you... Elijah has been letting me look at some old Grimiores. The spell has never been done before, and it was actually more of a theory in your mother's book. I left it in the attic, above the church. I probably should have brought it, but I have a tendency to lose things in my bag, so I left it under a loose floorboard. I sneaked out to come and see you."

Rebekah nodded. If you kept a teenage girl locked away in an attic for a certain amount of time, she will get into the very naughty habit of sneaking out. Rebekah would have loved so Klaus father a teenage girl, but, unfortunately, Hayley's child wasn't even his. "Fine," Rebekah said, leaning forward again. Davina leaned back, away from the blonde Original. "I just have one more question: Why would you do this for us?"

The little witch took a deep breath, looking even more nervous by the second. "I feel like I owe you. I tried to kill your older brother when he didn't deserve that. I know it sounds lame but it's true. I don't like owing people. So, do we have a deal or not?"

Rebekah cocked her head before standing up. "You'll have to run it by Klaus and Elijah. Not that they make the plans, but they would run it by me first. Run back to the attic and get the spell. Be back here in... maybe an hour or so."

 **Monday 12/09**

 **12:52pm**

 **The Attic – New Orleans**

Davina almost ran into her room, not quite sure why, but having the scary sense that Rebekah was going to come after her. She was terrified of the blonde, despite the fact that she had defeated her with magic before. But then she had Marcel, her safety rock, standing behind her, backing her up. Now she was lying to the blonde on a crazy solo mission.

She slammed the door and leaned with her back against it, truly fearful. She could feel tears well up in her eyes, but refused to believe it would do any good to be caught crying when she returned to the Mikaelson residence in about three quarters of an hour. She blinked the tears down and stood up, instantly feeling nervous. Rebekah was terrifying, but she was only doing this because something even more terrifying haunted her in that very room.

It wasn't merely a superstition. There was a real threat in that room, the thing that made her even more scared than the presence of the Mikaelson siblings. She looked around her entire attic. She appeared to be alone, but that never fooled her. She turned to the full-length mirror across her wall and gasped, just like she did every time, for in her reflection, she was not alone at all.

She whipped her head around and surveyed the room behind her once more, but the man in the mirror was not in the room. She looked back to the reflective glass and looked the rugged man in the eye. He seemed middle aged with very dark eyes and a calm expression on his face.

"I doubt the plan is going to work," Davina choked, trying not to seem as afraid as she really was. "I'm going to bring Kol back because I feel bad? They'll never believe that. Rebekah didn't, I could tell."

"Then make the believe it," the man said. In the mirror, it looked as though he was speaking normally, but all she heard was an echoing whisper, scratching itself into her skull. "Cry at them, apologies, sob. Do whatever it takes to prove that you're just an innocent little girl looking to make amends."

"But what am I supposed to do if they ask why I want to kill a vicar?" Davina asked, desperately, seeing nothing but plot holes in the mans dangerous plan.

"The vicar?" the whisper repeated. "Where does he come into all of this?"

Davina's knees shook as she became more and more afraid. "I told Rebekah that there would have to be a powerful sacrifice. She suggested the vicar. He runs the humans association with the vampire of New Orleans. He's powerful enough for a human."

The man scoffed. "Sure. But you know who is even more powerful? The leader of the vampire clan. Get them to sacrifice Marcel. That'll be more believable, anyway. After all, he locked you up here and took your life away."

"I don't want to sacrifice Marcel," Davina whimpered. "He's my friend!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, but Marcel won't really be the one who's going to die, is he? You already have a sacrifice."

Davina nodded. "Me," she whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, I know everyone hates authors notes, but I should have done this last chapter. I'm Izzy. Hey! So for the first few chapters this story will focus mostly on Rebekah, Klaus and Elijah trying to get Kol and Finn back (Finn is mentioned later) but Caroline comes in to be badass in (I think) chapter eight and Katherine comes in a little later but they are mentioned a lot before. I have Twenty-Three chapters done already because I kept meaning to publish it but I never got around to it. From this chapter I will update every week on Sunday. This is set after 1x09 i think in TO and in TVD... just after Silas drains Katherine's blood. There is no Nadia and Camille was only mentioned once. This started as 'If I wrote The Originals' sought of thing so... I already have plans for a sequal in which Kol, Finn and Rebekah all have romantic storylines but none in the story except mentions of past lovers. Sorry for the long authors note, I just think I should have cleared a couple things up. -Izzy (P.S please please reveiw! I want to know how I'm doing!)  
**

* * *

 **Chapter TWO**  
 **Tuesday 13/09**  
 **10:31am**  
 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

The full moon was five days away, so the house was buzzing with excitement. When Davina had re-proposed her plan, the boys were very sceptical at first – even more so than Rebekah had been – and they had even more questions, all of which Davina answered confidently. Eventually they excepted the plan and plans and schemes were practised almost immediately. They planned out where each of them should be every minute from the hour 6pm on the night of the full moon; Elijah, the best Latin speaker of the three, read and re-read the spell looking for any error; Klaus talked to Davina about the pro's and con's of every way to sacrifice a person but there was still one issue none of them could quite wrap their head around.  
"The white-oak-stake has to be given up," Davina had told them. "It has to go to someone capable of using it or nature won't be balanced out and the plan will never work. It's the only way."  
"So what do you suggest?" Klaus asked, sarcastically. "We just hand the only truly lethal weapon against us that is in existence over to you? Or were you thinking about Marcel?"  
Davina shook her head, her big brown eyes widening. "No, I thought maybe you could turn someone. Then compel them never to use it."  
The plan seemed secure on the first day. Nobody went a minute without doing something, in theory, on the day of the spell. The plan seemed foolproof. But still, the three siblings couldn't allow anything to go wrong, they couldn't risk losing their chance at having their brother back, so they all recited the plan every day before breakfast. For good measure.  
"I'm going out," Rebekah announced to her brothers, who sat in the lounge. Elijah was again, re-reading the spell and Klaus was twirling the white-oak-stake in his hands, letting it prick his fingers.  
"I'll come with you," Klaus announced, standing up. "I have nothing better to do than... whatever you're doing." He walked over to the mantel piece and lifted the painting above the fire place off of his hook, revealing a safe. He unlocked it with the combination they all knew and put the stake inside, then locked it again, hanging painting where is was. It was an elaborate oil painting of the ocean, painted by Klaus, himself, hung up in an expensive, antique golden frame.  
"Okay," Rebekah agreed, flinging her black, designer handbag over her shoulder. "Elijah, do you want to come?"  
Elijah looked up at his two siblings, Klaus shrugging on a black denim jacket and Rebekah, making sure she had everything in her bag. "No," he said. "I plan on re-reading this again. There's just something that doesn't add up."  
"What?" Klaus asked, getting his key out to unlock the front door.  
Elijah shrugged. "Well, I was under the impression that Davina actually enjoyed Marcel's company, so why would she randomly chose to sacrifice him? And why would she do it for our benefit when it appeared as though she disliked us?"  
"Elijah, we're all suspicious of Davina's sudden change in heart towards the whole... Team Mikaelson/Team Marcel situation," Klaus said. "We're all planning on keeping an eye out, but if she is going against us then there's nothing really to be done until the full moon, so until then... just go with it."  
"Indeed," Elijah agreed. "There may not be any way to determine her loyalties until Sunday... Unless..."  
"Unless what?" Rebekah asked, leaning against the door frame into the lounge, looking at Elijah, doubtfully.  
He paused, tapping the spell with his middle finger. "Would it be too overly crude to have one of us keep a private eye on the witch? Simply for precaution?"  
Klaus sniggered. "By all means, Elijah, if you wish to spy on teenage girls then go for it. We won't be mad. Just disappointed." Rebekah laughed.  
"Don't give me that," Elijah ordered. "It just appears as though we are taking all safety precautions but one – the most important one. If Davina truly is un-loyal, we could just get another witch to do the spell."  
"Davina's the only one powerful enough," Rebekah pointed out. "Which means that, as much as I dislike her, we need to have a little faith in her." She smiled at Elijah before walking out, Klaus on her heels.  
"Rebekah love," he said as the two of them walked through the courtyard and climbed into Rebekah's car. "Where are we going?"  
Rebekah shut the door to her roofless red car. Klaus rode shotgun. "Shopping," she said. "I swear to the God I don't really believe in that if you spill anything in my car I will destroy you."

 **Tuesday 13/09**  
 **11:15am**  
 **Shopping Centre – New Orleans**

Rebekah and Klaus entered the somewhat low-class shopping mall and looked around, Klaus not having high hopes of happiness for their little shopping spree. One of the first things he noticed that made his want to rip out a heart or two were a couple of sleazy jerks at the food court checking his younger sister out with hungry looks on their faces, clear boners poking through their trousers.  
"Just ignore them," Rebekah whispered, walking over to an escalator, adjusting her bag a little.  
"I will eat them," Klaus growled, still glaring at them. The noticed him and backed off, maybe thinking he was Rebekah's boyfriend or something. Klaus almost laughed.  
"Yeah," she scoffed. "Except for the fact that they'd probably taste like sweaty ball-sacks and nachos." She stepped onto the escalator and Klaus followed her, looking at her with an astonished face.  
"Rebekah, please do not tell me you know what a sweaty ball-sack taste like?" Klaus begged, feeling a disgusted look grow on his face.  
Rebekah cringed. "Can we please change the topic? Please?" Klaus nodded, no longer planning on destroying the lousy excuse for men, sat in the food court, but settling for cracking his knuckles. "I'm actually embarking on this shopping trip for a reason," she continued. "You remember how touchy Kol is... was... or is, I don't really know, about being a part of this family, officially. So I thought it would be nice, instead of giving him a guest bedroom, to customize one for him."  
They got to the top of the escalators and Klaus studied his sister. "Since when were you that nice?" he asked, doubtfully.  
Rebekah shrugged. "I had an epiphany. So shall we start with books? I remember he loved Dickens." The two of them found there way to the nearest book shop and split up, looking for the more classical section.  
Klaus skimmed past rows of teen drama novels, kids pop-up books, biography's, poetry, How To books, and cook books, scanning the shelves for any indication in the direction he should be heading in, but the bookshop was like a maze, with randomly turning shelves, random steps leading to different levels, and separate block sections of square shaped shelves. Not to mention the little stands that popped out of the ground portraying books of different nature.  
The shop itself smelled like the inside of an old book, but no old books were to be found. He found Rebekah twice, heading the same way as he was. They sought of just laughed about it and headed off in different directions, but it was comforting to know that she was having as much trouble as he was.  
Finally he found himself in a classical sections and his eyes flicked over the titles, recognising the story without needing to see the author. He found Shakespeare, Jane Austin, The Brontey Sisters and finally had to crouch down to see some books by Dickens.  
"Does it bother you as well?" came a feminine voice near his ear. "The era gap, I mean? I mean, we have 16th century Shakespeare right next to Victorian Arthur Conan Doyle."  
He looked up at the girl. She was pretty, with light blonde hair and blue eyes. She spoke with a high-pitched voice and wore very expensive looking clothes. But she seemed fairly smart and articulate. He couldn't help be be reminded of Caroline.  
"It's simply preposterous," he agreed. "Nothing seems to be in alphabetical order, either, so it makes it almost impossible to find anything in here. Quite like being stuck in a maze."  
She smirked. "I suppose. But I know my way around. I come here often." She crouched down next to him. "I'm Eva."  
"Klaus," he said, picking up a copy of A Christmas Carol, wondering if Kol liked Christmas.  
"I have to study that one for college," Eva said. "I do English Literature. I don't know why we have to do A Christmas Carol, it's September. But I always say that everyone gets too excited about Christmas too early."  
"I couldn't agree more," Klaus said, remembering a shop selling cards with Santa on them. "Don't you think it's... cheating, to have a very old story in such a new cover?" he asked Eva.  
"It's seems unnatural," she agreed. "That probably sounds really weird..."  
He looked at her, smiling. "Seems normal enough for me."  
"So where are you from?" she asked, after taking a pause to blush and swipe hair behind her ear. "I heard that 'Klaus' was a German name, I think, but your accent is British..."  
He smirked. "Germany+Britain. I'm definitely Chinese," he laughed. Eva did as well. "My parents moved over to America before I was born," he said. "From somewhere in Europe. I lived in England for a few years ago, and I pick up accents easily. This one kind of stuck."  
She smiled at him, standing up and getting a Shakespeare book from the top shelf. "I think that's really interesting. Anyway, have you seen the A Christmas Carol musical?"  
Klaus shook his head. "Why? I can only bet it was atrocious."  
"I wanted to scream," she said. "I could write a book of my own about every historical error."  
He was about to reply when Rebekah stormed around the corner, looking mildly frustrated. "Hey, Klaus. Sorry to cock-block you, but we don't have time for picking up chicks."  
Klaus rolled his eyes while Eva blushed. "Sorry about her," he said. "She can be a little moody sometimes."  
"That's fine," Eva said. "I was leaving anyway. Nice to meet you Klaus."  
He nodded as she walked away. "And you, Eva."  
When she reached Rebekah, who was giving her a weird look, she turned back to him. "If the modern covers really bother you," she said, "there's a book shop around the corner who are selling a box set of first addition Dickens books. They're kind of pricey, but if you can afford it, it would definitely be worth it."  
"Thanks Eva," he said, smiling at her.  
When she walked away, Rebekah scoffed. "Well she wanted the 'D'," she laughed.  
"She was sweet," Klaus said, straightening up and walking across to her. "I think Kol would appreciate it if we put in the extra effort. How about we go to look at those first addition copies?"  
He walked past her and she put an arm out to stop him. "Wait, wait, wait. Since when did you have a human side?"  
Since Eva reminded him of Caroline. "I don't," he insisted. "Let's go, little sister, valuable time being wasted."

The first addition series was definitely within their price range, so they quickly bought it, snatching it away from the prying eyes of a poor elderly couple who were inspecting it. The siblings couldn't help but smirk at them in pride as the quickly hoisted the books right out from under their noses and paid for them, flashing their cash a little as they did so. What was the point of being an all-powerful original if you couldn't show off to the less fortunate every now and then?  
After bagging up the series, they racked their brains for other things Kol liked and ended up in a music store, flicking through album after album. Klaus picked out some of his classical favourites along with books instructing one on how to play certain pieces of music, remembering that Kol was a skilled pianist. In a less classical music store, Rebekah got her hands on a very expensive iPod, Kol's own being lost due to his death. She also found some albums from so rock artists Kol liked during his more modern days on Earth. And, of course, a C.D player to play it all on. Then they found a retro stereo sound-system for Kol to play more old-fashioned discs on.  
Then, of course, Kol's closet had to be filled. Rebekah assumed that Kol and Klaus were roughly the same size, so she kept measuring t-shits, jeans, coats, jackets and shoes up against him, remembering what kinds of things Kol wore when he was un-daggered in modern days, and trying to replicate and replace that style. Then, Rebekah dragged him to a tailor to get an all-black suit fitted, thinking that all-black was probably more Kol's style.  
"Why does he need a suit, anyway?" Klaus asked, while an elderly tailor measured up his leg as he kept his arms up like Rose from Titanic.  
"Just in case," she replied, sitting on a waiting chair and flicking through a magazine. "I have several fancy dresses in my closet, just in case we need to go somewhere special and I don't have time to shop. You own at least three suits. And Elijah... well we all know how much he despises dress-down Fridays."  
After suit shopping, it was time to think about the bedroom itself. They decided that they couldn't go wrong with a nice hardwood floor so they picked out a dark wood and hired some people to put it in place on Thursday. Then they picked out some simple black bedsheets and discussed whether or not they should pain the walls. They didn't really know what colours Kol did or didn't like, so in the end they decided to just go with beige, so Rebekah picked that out, to change the room from it's boring shade of white.  
Then it was technology time. They picked out the most expensive flat-screen television screen and computer. They bought him a laptop and headphones, an iPad and the most expensive looking phone. They ran out of cash by that time, so they just compelled the guy behind the counter to let them take it for free.  
It was a completely bugger trying to get their haul to fit in Rebekah's small car. They managed to fit most of the technology in the trunk, they disassembled the sound-system and put it across the back seat, then they had bags of clothes and cosmetics and CD's at their feet. Klaus had the books on his lap. Rebekah speeded home, anxious to get out of the crowded car.

 **Tuesday 13/09**  
 **11:15am**  
 **Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

Elijah had re-read the spell for the billionth time that day before locking it up in the safe and pacing the length of the living room, agitatedly. He strongly disliked being the most sceptical of the three siblings about the plan – usually that was Klaus' job – but something simply didn't add up. Well, actually, everything didn't really add up. He could list the aspects of the plan that didn't make sense, and that list was to long to not be nervous about it.  
Davina had hated his siblings before then  
Yes, he had mentioned Kol to Davina, but he had also mentioned Finn, so why did she immediately plan to bring Kol back?  
They had moved on from the fact that Davina had planned to kill them. Sure, they were mad at her, but she didn't appear guilty until at least a month after they had made peace.  
Where had this spell come from? He had looked through his mother's Grimiores before and not found it.  
He sighed, feeling as though somebody should leave to spy on Davina, not in a perverted way, but just to make sure she wasn't actually taking advantage of their lost brother to kill them. The spell seemed in check and she was very capable of bringing back Kol, but there were to many reasons for her not to.  
He found himself in his office. Well, it was hardly his office, but an office in the house that was mutually used among his siblings. He logged into his server on the computer behind the desk and checked his e-mail, receiving a few messages from friends of his. Nothing particularly spiked his interest. He considered meeting Rebekah and Klaus down town, just for something to do, but accompanying Rebekah on a shoe-related shopping spree wasn't one of his most cherished hobbies.  
He looked back at the computer and decided to send an e-mail. He had Katherine's e-mail address on his contacts list under P for Pierce. He thought for a minute about what to type. What to tell her. Should he start with an apology or a joke? Katherine was the only person her laughed with after all. She bought of the sense of humour in him that most others doubted the existence of.  
 **Katerina, I'm bored,** he ended up typing. **We should have dinner. -Elijah**  
He clicked send and leaned back in his chair, wondering how and when she would reply. He scratched the back of his neck as he logged out of the computer and left the office.

 **Tuesday 13/09**  
 **14:34pm**  
 **The Attic – New Orleans**

Davina paced her room. The ghost man wasn't to be seen in the mirror so she had a few minutes to think without those piercing dark eyes seeing into her very soul. She didn't know whether or not he was still in the room, but at least she didn't have to see him. She still looked over her shoulder, panicked, every few seconds or so. She remembered the first time the man had appeared. He had begun ordering her around and at first she resisted, but he had seemed so menacing.  
He had recited the words to her, and how to spell them, so she wrote them down on a piece of paper, trying desperately to replicate the old handwriting in Elijah's mother's Grimiore. It was all in the language of the old world, but she managed to do a good job of replicating it. Then she made the paper look old using tea and ripping it, then stuffing it between the pages of the real Grimiore for weeks so it smelled like the rest. She knew Elijah, well, all of them, were doubtful, but she thought she did a pretty good job of convincing them that the page was legit.  
She also felt like she did a good guilty-conscience skit to convince them that she was really doing this out of the good of her heart. She had cried and sobbed and convinced them that they didn't deserve any challenges in life. It had seemed pathetic.  
She was deeply afraid that the originals would realize that she was no where near loyal toward them, but she was ten times more afraid of the man in the mirror.  
"Knock, knock," said a voice a her door. Davina jumped around, gasping, so suddenly that the happy face was immediately wiped off of her visitor and replaced with shock and worry. "What's wrong?" Marcel asked, stepping inside and closing the door. "Something scaring you?"  
Davina shook her head, searching for something to say. Then she got a good idea. If she was going to play pathetic to the Mikaelsons, then playing pathetic to Marcel might be good insurance. "I just... last night I had a nightmare," she explained. "About the harvest ritual. I guess I'm still a little jumpy, is all."  
Marcel looked really concerned before pulling her into a hug. "It's okay, Davina. I promise, I won't let anyone else hurt you," he said. He turned her toward the mirror, where she almost screamed. The man was back, standing behind Marcel and her. He smirked at Davina before raising a finger to his lips, asking for silence while still staring at her arrogantly. "What is it?" Marcel asked, startled by Davina's sudden gasp.  
"Nothing," she said. "Nothing, I'm fine." The man in the mirror nodded. Marcel obviously didn't see him.  
"That dream must have really freaked you out," Marcel laughed. "But, Davina... I look in to that mirror and do you know what I see? I see a strong, confident young woman. You're capable of anything, Davina." The man in the mirror looked humoured and shook his head.  
The man was right. Davina wasn't capable of anything, otherwise she would have gotten rid of him already. But she had tried every spell she knew and nothing had worked. He still haunted her.  
"Thanks, Marcel," she croaked. "I there something I can do for you?"  
He shook his head. "Nah, I just popped in to say 'hi'."  
Davina looked at him, solemnly. Even if he wasn't really going to be the sacrifice, he would still be there at the ritual on Sunday. He was still in danger due to her plan with the originals. They could sacrifice him anyway, at the wrong time; Kol could be out of control when he woke up... or at least the man would. Kol was never really going to come back. The man in the mirror was. At this point, she would prefer yet another original over the man. She would prefer anyone. But if she didn't follow through with the spell... then she would have a much more slow and painful death than was planned for her.  
"Hey," Davina said, hugging him again. "Thanks for looking out for me, Marcel."  
He shrugged. "No problem. Hey, I got to run. Got a kingdom to run and everything. See you later, okay? Let me know if you have another nightmare."  
He walked out the door with her smiling, bravely at him. Oh, Marcel, she thought. I'm living a nightmare.

 **Tuesday 13/09**  
 **16:45pm**  
 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

 **Elijah, I'm busy. Maybe another time. -Katherine (Not Katerina)**  
Elijah read the e-mail over and over again, obsessively for about ten minutes, even though there wasn't much to it. He didn't really expect a dinner date with her, but it was still a shame to be rejected. He closed down the computer just as he heard Rebekah's car pulling up in the drive.  
They needed Elijah's help bringing everything they had bought inside. Not because they needed extra strength, but because they needed more arm capacity. If Elijah had known that the shopping trip would be to redecorate Kol's new room he probably would have went with them, instead of being stuck at home, 'holding down the fort'.  
They had a slight debate on which room Kol would like best. Rebekah wanted him to have the one with the best view, Elijah thought he would prefer the biggest space and Klaus thought that he would enjoy the room with the best onsuit bathroom. They ended up compromising on a fairly large room, with a good bathroom and a fair view. It had all good factors instead of one particularly idiosyncratic factor. They moved everything out of that room so they could easily decorate it.  
Rebekah changed into scruffier clothes almost straight away and begun painting the walls from white to beige, which may have been the most boring job ever, in Elijah's opinion.  
Klaus stayed to help, but Elijah didn't want to risk any paint getting on his Armani suit and he didn't feel like being degraded by changing into overalls so he decided to sit out of painting.  
He was in his own room when he bought his phone out and got his e-mail up to reply to his Katerina. **But I'm bored, Katerina, and I miss you. -Elijah**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, I know I said I would post chapter 3 on Wednesday, but hey, I have no self control. I took a risk with this chapter after watching Sophie's Choice :(. But they had to at least consider Henrik... Okay, you'll know the risk when you get to it.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter THREE**

 **Wednesday 14/09**

 **11:55am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

The extremely tedious task of painting a wall from white to beige was in fact, quite harder than most would assume. After all, they were vampires, not decorators. They first, had to avoid any floor or ceiling, and of course, the window and ledge. That was a hard task than one would expect and it was only achieved due to their vampire sight being able to tell when something went a little over the line.

Then the was the fact that beige and white really weren't that different, so they harder knew where needed a second coat and where needed it's first. They just had to wait for it to dry so that the room looked considerably warmer and cosier.

Elijah still wouldn't help, but Klaus and Rebekah were fine doing it by themselves. They ended up talking about an easier time, when they had both been human, when they had all been human and laughing about some treasured memories. And some memories not so luxurious.

"You really should have seen your face," Klaus said, laughing to himself as he stroked the brush down the edge of the window, overlooking the garden. "I wish I could go back in time just to see it again."

"It wasn't funny, Nik," Rebekah grumbled, flicking paint at him as he continued his laughter. Rebekah had thought they had moved past the level of maturity where they laughed at Rebekah for falling in the lake. Or being pushed in the lake more like it.

"It was hilarious," Klaus said, calming his hysterical attitude. "It was your own fault, Rebekah, for ranting at Kol. You couldn't blame him for getting fed up."

Rebekah threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "Seriously, Nik? He was trying to feed poisonous berries to baby Henrik. He almost killed him!"

They both paused, thinking about what Rebekah had just said. She had scolded Kol so hard when he had almost killed Henrik, but when he, Klaus, had gotten his youngest brother killed, she had been so kind and comforting. He remembered that Rebekah. The one who really did stick by him, Always and Forever.

"Do you remember the day Henrik was born?" he asked her, putting the brush down with the others.

"Vaguely," she said. "Why, do you?"

He nodded. He could never forget.

" _Kol," Finn scolded grabbing his little brothers wrist. "Stop hitting Rebekah!" Finn snatched the bamboo stick from Kol's hand, the one he had used to poke and prod Rebekah with. By doing this, he had clearly intended to stop the violence, but Rebekah had found a similar stick and was using it to whack Kol around the head. Poor Kol was still being held by Finn and was unable to fight back. "Elijah," Finn yelled. "Could you grab her? Lord knows what Father will do if he sees Rebekah being violent."_

 _Female violence was strictly forbidden in the village they lived in. Women were hardly even allowed to carry knives and the punishment could be brutal. Elijah, in a desperate attempt to save his sister more than his brother took Rebekah's bamboo stick and picked her up, ignoring her wails of protest. Rebekah was old enough to not be carried anywhere any more, but she was still young enough for Elijah to carry in order to restrain her._

" _When can we go back?" Niklaus whined fiddling with a leaf. The five siblings trudged through the woods, trying not to trip over huge roots that stretched across the ground._

" _Father will send Ayanna to fetch us when we're welcome back," Elijah insisted, discovering an easier way to carry Rebekah over his shoulder, still completely ignoring her cries._

" _Shut up, Rebekah," Niklaus yelled, which only made Rebekah cry more. "Why aren't we welcome any more?"_

 _Finn rolled his eyes, still with a flailing Kol in his arms. "We are welcome. Mother is giving birth, though, and could do without the stress of caring for us."_

" _So why do we have to be in the forest?" Rebekah cried._

" _To collect water," Finn said. Elijah had judged Rebekah to have calmed and set her down on the ground where she walked herself along with her big brothers, one of whom carried her younger._

" _Why can't I go down?" Kol begged._

" _You're being annoying," Niklaus suggested, shrugging. He picked up a fallen bamboo stick and poked trees, innocently with it._

" _You're misbehaving," Elijah corrected, hitting Niklaus around the head, lightly. Klaus poked him with a bamboo stick._

" _How am I?" Kol whined, wriggling in Finns arms, who held him tighter._

" _You were hitting Rebekah with a bamboo stick," Finn said. "You lead her to do the same. You know what Father does to violent women."_

" _Stupid rule," Rebekah grumbled, kicking a rock._

" _I quite agree," Elijah said as the kids arrived at the lake. Niklaus begun to fill the bucket he had bought to store water in. Kol leapt out of Finn's arms and ran around the shallow end, kicking up water and splashing his siblings. Finn chased after him, splashing him back._

 _They ended up staying there for longer than they intended to. They all filled the buckets they had bought and put them to one side, ignoring them, and had one of their idiosyncratic days where their hatred for one another and competitiveness metamorphosed into happiness. Elijah taught Kol and Rebekah how to skim stones, Finn took Niklaus deeper than he had been before and helped him learn how to swim. Kol and Rebekah stopped their bickering for about ten minutes to run under the water fall. After a few hours, they all collapsed on the bank._

" _What does 'giving birth' mean?" Rebekah asked, innocently. Her three older brothers looked curiously at her, while Kol didn't seem to care._

" _Why are you asking?" Finn wondered._

" _You said Mommy was doing it," she said, looking up at him, closing one of her eyes to squint out the sunlight that was creeping through the trees, gradually lowering below the horizon._

" _It means that Mother's doing some magic," Elijah said, "and when we get back, she will have cast a spell that created us a new sibling. Do you remember what it was like before we had Kol?"_

" _Peaceful?" Niklaus asked, laughing. Kol reached up and hit him, but he just laughed._

" _I would like another sibling," Rebekah said, smiling up at them all. "Another one of you would be nice."_

 _It was probably the nicest thing Rebekah had said to any of them. They all smiled back at her, adoringly before making their way back to the village with the water, being a lot nicer to eatchother than before._

"Why did we never think to bring Finn back?" Rebekah asked. Her and Klaus sat in Kol's to-be room, their paint brushes laying, forgotten, next to them. Klaus had re-told the memory to the best of his recollection, maybe forgetting the minor details. Rebekah mildly blushed when Klaus revealed to her that she had once used to like them all. "As soon as Davina told us we could bring somebody back from the dead, we all immediately though of Kol. Yes, Finn tried to kill us all, but then we gave him Sage and his suicide quest was waved aside. He died good. Besides, Kol also threatened to kill me, and you. Remember? So why did we immediately think of Kol?"

"I can think of multiple reasons," Klaus said. "For one: Finn not only _threatened_ to kill us, he had an actual plan, and there was never any reassurance that his plan had been forgotten. There was only hope. Two: as Kol was younger, we all felt more protectively toward Kol than toward Finn. I loved Finn and Kol equally, but I cared more for Kol. Three: Davina actually mentioned Kol, she told us the plan was to bring back Kol, not us."

Rebekah sighed, pausing again. "Okay, well, why did we never think of Henrik? He was a warlock, wasn't her? I think he was supernatural, so he could come back, right?"

Klaus shrugged. "Maybe. But we've had a thousand years to get over the tragic death of Henrik. I still miss him, and still regret what I did every day. But Kol's death is more painful as it's more recent. Why? Do you not want Kol to come back?"

"Of course I do," she said, quickly. "Why wouldn't I? I love Kol. I just wondered why we immediately thought of him."

"Do you think Davina would be capable of bringing multiple people back? If so, we could have all three of them."

Rebekah shrugged. "Elijah's over there now. Text him to ask her."

 **Wednesday 14/09**

 **12:01pm**

 **The Attic – New Orleans**

After Elijah had re-read the spell enough to be assured of the fact that it was completely real, fool-proof, and would actually work, he then had to give it back to Davina, so that she could practice it before Sunday. He had made photocopies, unable to completely trust Davina with it, of course. He stood facing her in her attic-room, completely parallel to her as he handed it over.

"My thanks to you for allowing me the time read it," Elijah said, as she crouched by her bed and dragged out a trunk. She opened it up and pulled out the Grimiore he had given her, tucking the page back in.

"No problem," she said, looking nervously at her mirror for some bizarre reason. "Is it entirely in check?"

He nodded. "It would appear so. I must admit, I certainly had my doubts. I must have read that Grimiore a hundred times. I appear to have missed out a very important page, however. Thank you for bringing it to us, and thank you for assisting us."

She shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, I owe you. All of you."

He felt his phone go off in his pocket and bought it out, reading a text from Rebekah. _**Ask DC if we can bring Finn and Henrik back too? Xoxo - Rebekah**_

He turned to Davina, unsure of this new change in plan. "Is... is there any possibility, however slight, that we could bring back more than one person?"

Davina paused before turning anxiously to the mirror. "How many people do you mean?"

"Ideally three," he said, meeting her gaze in the mirror. Her head snapped back at him, looking him in the eye without the reflective glass. "Kol isn't the only brother we've lost, you see."

"Big family," she said, raising her eyebrows for a split second. "Um... well... maybe. The spell doesn't exactly say a limit, but there are other problems. I may not be strong enough to bring back three people from the dead, the spell will grow in size considerably so Marcel will be suspicious if three originals come back and I haven't noticed a thing."

"We would protect you from Marcel," Elijah insisted. "If he and his army was completely out of the picture, do you believe you could do it?"

Davina paused. She stared straight into the mirror, as if the mirror had the answers. Elijah guessed that she was looking at herself in order to assess herself. She took long, deep breaths, ignoring everything else in the room before finally turning back to Elijah, her eyes a little bigger and her jaw a little more set. She lifted her head high and pushed her shoulder back before speaking. "I think three is really pushing nature. I know I couldn't do three. I could maybe bring back two, if I were allowed to borrow some of your energy. Do you think that would be possible?"

Elijah nodded. "Yes, that is more than possible. Thank you very much, Davina. If you carry this out then my family with forever be in your debt. I'll call you with the details."

He left Davina looking very frightened. When he was gone, she turned to the mirror. Elijah hadn't been able to see or hear the man at all, but Davina still could. She still heard every whisper, heard him advise her on every word that left her mouth.

"Why?" Davina asked him, dumbfounded. He stood, where he always did, just a little bit behind her left shoulder, looking over into her eyes. "Why tell them that I can bring two people back? I'm already lying to them about bringing one person back. I thought you didn't want me to give them their brother back, why change your mind now?"

"Because I believe there is somebody who could help my cause," he whispered. "One of their brothers has wanted them dead in the past. He could help me. I want you to raise me from the dead along with Finn Mikaelson."

Davina swallowed, looking around the room as if something could help her. "Who even are you?" she asked. "How can I see you? Why are you making me do this?"

He laughed a scratching, screeching laugh. "You can see me thanks to a spell performed by another witch. She's dead now. I'm making you do this because it has to be done. The Originals must be destroyed. I must be the one to do it."

"Why _me_?" she begged. "Why do you have to put _my_ life on the line? Why do _I_ have to do this? Who are you to torture somebody like this?"

"You're the only witch in New Orleans powerful enough for this kind of spell," he grumbled, frustrated with her cries. "You will _not_ back out!"

 **Wednesday 14/09**

 **15:56pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

The three siblings were then faced with an impossible decision. They had to decide whether or not they would rather bring back Finn or Henrik from the dead. While they had defended their primary instinct to bring Kol back before any other, it was impossible to choose between siblings. It was Rebekah's idea to make lists, fighting for the right for each brother to live, so each had a fighting chance.

Reasons to bring Finn back:

 _Death is fresher than Henrik's so we miss him more?_

 _We've had 1000 years to get over Henrik_

 _He might be over trying to kill us_

 _Maybe we can't even bring back Henrik, so trying would be a waste of the spell that we could be using to bring back Finn_

Reasons ro bring Henrik back:

 _Was too young to die – need to live a full life_

 _Finn would have wanted this_

 _Henrik never tried to kill us all, unlike Finn_

 _Was mildly less annoying that Finn_

In the end, they could make as many lists or charts as they wanted, they still had to choose between their brothers.

"I think..." Elijah said, doubting what he was saying and regretting it before he even said it, "as much as I still love and miss Henrik, I feel trying to bring him back instead of Finn is a risk. Again, the spell could be being wasted. What if bringing Henrik back doesn't work? Then Finn will never have the chance to live again."

Rebekah nodded. "I know, Elijah, I think you're right. But what if the spell does work and we get Henrik back, after all these years?"

"Maybe I could feel a little less guilty," Klaus mumbled, looking at the floor and picking at a loose thread in his trousers. He was the only one who didn't say anything, who wasn't standing up, debating his way through their options. Rebekah and Elijah both knew that he was only upset because he believed Henrik's death to be his fault. He was the one who took him to gawk at werewolves.

"Niklaus," Rebekah said, getting a little agitated. "For the love of the God I don't really believe in, I'm going to tell you this for the last time: Henrik's death was _not_ your fault!"

"I completely agree with Rebekah," Elijah agreed. "Henrik would have ventured out to study the wolves regardless of whether or not you accompanied him. If Kol, Finn, Rebekah or I had taken him, you would be telling us the same thing."

"I don't care what you want me to believe," Klaus said. "I still took him to see the wolves. I still killed him, so it's my responsibility to bring him back. I vote for Henrik. I don't particularly love him more than Finn, but he died way too soon, and I need to make amends for what I did."

There was a long pause. The silence that had fallen over the three siblings was dragged out for so long that they started to believe that none of them would ever speak again. It was Elijah who broke through the silence first.

"You _have_ made amends," he said. His voice always seemed calm and collected, but rarely seemed sad. But that voice was nothing other than comforting. "I hear you, Niklaus. More than half of your slumbers are disrupted with nightmares of that day. I know it still haunts you which is beyond unfair considering where the fault for Henrik's death lies. You have been through a thousand years of torture, Niklaus. If that's not making amends then I don't know what is."

There was another long pause. Klaus knew there was no point in arguing with Elijah about it. If challenged, Elijah would not rest until Klaus denied fault. "So who do we bring back?" Rebekah asked. "Do we risk wasting a spell for Henrik, or do we bring back Finn and risk having him try to destroy us again?"

 **Wednesday 14/09**

 **11:45pm**

 **Back-Alley – French Quarter – New Orleans**

It was a quiet, calm and peaceful night, settling over New Orleans. The back-alley she stood it would be dangerous to any human, with rapists and muggers and criminals lurking in the black shadows cast by dust bins and empty shops. And, of course, the Vampires. The time that the night-walkers came out to play, the monsters who were unable to walk around New Orleans in the day time.

But she was more than safe. She was stronger and faster than any monster New Orleans had to offer. She was stronger than them, faster than them. With, of course, the exception of Klaus. He was a lot stronger and faster than she was, due to his werewolf gene.

Rebekah stopped walking through the alley and leaned against the wall, waiting. If any rapist did walk down at that point, Rebekah couldn't help but think that they would at least try to make her their target. Because she was pretty, and that night, dressed rather sexily in skinny jeans, a brown leather jacket and sky-high heels. She was kind of hoping some criminal would try to attack her. It was be fun using those heels to kill them.

Her brother's had no idea she was there, for her business had been kept from them for years. Of course, you couldn't be an original and not have at least a few vampires compelled to do your bidding, whenever you needed something done. Klaus was preparing himself to fight Marcel for control of vervain-filled, pathetic vampires who called themselves a 'kingdom'. Rebekah had wondered why Klaus didn't simply build up an army that was bigger and better and rule them, and use them to take down Marcel. But no, he fought for Vampires that would never be loyal to him.

At exactly Midnight, her vampire gang begun to assemble, silently, around her. There were 23 of them, all a little different, all over a century old. She didn't particularly like the newbies. She waited until they all arranged themselves so that they could see her, and they all looked at her, waiting for her to tell them why she had called them out.

"There's something I want you guys to do for me," she said. She liked to keep things on a friendly basis, so they all liked her. They were all compelled to do her bidding, regardless of their opinion of her, but it was still comforting knowing that they admired her. "You guys know Davina Claire, right?"

There were nods and mumbles coming from the small crowd. "What about her?" called one of them, Reece, a vampire she had found quite recently.

"She's doing my family a little favour," Rebekah told them. "A big favour, actually. But I can't trust her." They all agreed, quietly, with her. The disliked Davina as much as she did. "I need some insurance. Something to use against her in case she goes back on her word."

"So that's what you need us to do?" a friendly voice called. Jess seemed to be the one that everybody loved because she was so sweet. They all said 'Bless Jess' because she would always find clarity in anything that they did. "Find something to blackmail her with?"

"I already have an idea," Rebekah said to her minions. "I just need you guys to carry it out. It will be hard."

"Well, what is it?" called out Reece. He was the obnoxious one who always seemed to find fault in Rebekah.

"I need you to kidnap one of Marcel's vampires," Rebekah said. "Josh, Davina's friend. You guys know him, right? I need you guys to get him and bring him to me, in the woods at 6:20pm on Sunday. Good luck. You'll need it."

* * *

 **Takes ages to write but seconds to review! Please just let me know what you think! It always helps! I think The Originals would have at least considered bringing Henrik back over Finn so I had to add it. This fic is about the Originals so Henrik is not going to go unmentioned.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I made a mistake in the last chapter! I DO know that Kol is older than Bekah, but when I wrote that chapter (which was ages ago) I think I was in the middle of a debate about it with a friend and she managed to convince me Bekah was older (Looking at you, Kasey, if you ever do read this). I think I mention in chapter 7 or 8 that Kol is older than Rebekah. Anyway, sorry for that mistake and thank you for pointing it out. Enjoy and please, please review!**

* * *

 **Chapter FOUR**

 **Thursday 15/09**

 **13:45pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah Mikaelson, assuming she wasn't dressed up to go anywhere, had three day looks.. She would often dress to impress, with tight jeans, expensive, cashmere cardigans or tunics or tank tops and Prada heels that astronauts would use to reach the moon.

Then there was her work out clothes. The kind of clothes she would wear to cheerleading practise at Mystic Fall's high school. She would also wear that to go for a run or the gym, not because she needed to, but to make the other girls jealous. Rebekah knew she was pretty and she loved rubbing it in other peoples faces. Besides, the gym also let her have free sandwiches as long as she looked like she was working out.

Then there were days like then, when she was dressed down. Plain leggings, a tank top and oversized, zip-up hooded jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Her hair was in a messy ponytail at the back of her head, and she had some make-up left on her face from the day before. She was going to be in the house all day, so why bother, really?

She was only over-seeing the carpenters who were putting the hard-wood floor down in Kol's new room. Unfortunately, so was Elijah, who was always dressed to impress, and made her look ridiculous.

"You're always so overdressed," she complained, leaning against the door frame into the guest bedroom opposite Kol's. Elijah leaned outside the door to Kol's room, his eyes judging her from the inside out. "Seriously, Elijah," Rebekah said, "it's only me home today. Well there are the carpenters, but they don't care. I'm not going to judge you if you wear jogging trousers."

Elijah raised an eyebrow, looking, at least, on the verge of smiling. "Rebekah, I don't regret to inform you that I do not even own any jogging trousers."

"Seriously?" she asked, doubtfully, laughing before teasing him. "Then what do you even wear to bed? Oh my God, Elijah... do you sleep in a onezie?"

Elijah gave her one of those rare smiles at the completely preposterous idea. "No, Rebekah, I don't."

"You sleep naked, don't you?" she accused, her face becoming serious all of a sudden, looking mildly astonished. "You slutty bitch!"

"Language," he scolded, jokingly. He didn't really mind if she swore, he just knew it angered her. "I do not sleep naked. Why are we even talking about this?"

"Klaus sleeps naked, you know," Rebekah informed him.

Elijah paused for a second, his facial expression not changing in the slightest after Rebekah's news. "How do you even know that?"

"I had to borrow his phone," she said, innocently. "Like, without his permission. So I just walked in to his room in the middle of the night, not a care in the world. Then... well like I said, the little bitch sleeps naked and... well the duvet had fallen off of him so... he woke up and caught me."

"Was that what all that screaming was about a few nights ago?" Elijah asked, beginning to smile again. Rebekah shamefully nodded. Elijah then laughed.

"It was shock!" she said, laughing, defending her screams. "I was shocked! I saw Klaus'... thing! I wasn't expecting that! Wait, hold up. If you heard me scream..."

"It woke me up," Elijah said. "And?"

"You heard me scream, and you didn't come running?" she exclaimed, not smiling any more but seeming sad and defenceless.

"I wasn't concerned," Elijah shamelessly admitted. Rebekah just looked even more hurt. "You're just as strong as I am, I trust that you can fend for yourself, so you didn't need my help defending you from Klaus's... thing. Besides, the screaming died down quickly."

Rebekah shook her head, looking shocked. "I hate you, you naked-sleeping lazy wanker." There was a long pause while they waited for bulky carpenters to make their way past them. "So, anyway," Rebekah said, more than ready to change the subject. "Look, I know something has been bothering you since Hayley left and it's not her leaving. Talk to me."

Elijah smirked. Sometimes, his sister knew him too well. "It's nothing."

"I know you told Klaus," she said, tugging on his guilty conscience. "Don't play favourites, and don't tell me I wouldn't understand because I'm a girl. Just tell me!"

There was a long pause before Elijah told her. He told her all about Katherine, the way he saw her, like the manipulative liar that she was, but in the best light. He told her that not only did he love Katerina, but the Katherine side of her as well. He told his sister that Hayley was merely a replacement, a possible stand-in Katherine and that nothing and no one could ever replace the real thing. But he had left the real thing for a position as an uncle for a child that wasn't even his brother's. He had left her for nothing and now she would never take him back. He even told Rebekah about the e-mails they had sent to eatchother recently, and the fact that she hadn't yet replied to his admittance that he missed her.

When he was finished, Rebekah didn't say anything, she just looked mildly ashamed at her feet. Then she looked up, appearing to be sad. "I'm sorry, Elijah."

He was shocked. "What for?" he asked, astonished.

"I... I wasn't very nice to you about loving her," she said.

Elijah sighed, shaking his head. Then he smiled. "None of us are very nice to eatchother about anything," he said. "Don't be sorry."

She exhaled a large, audible breath. "Okay, well... go after her then."

Elijah could have named a list of reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea. "She hates me," he said, simply, ignoring most of the rest of said reasons. "She wouldn't except that. She's never been one for forgiving and forgetting. Besides, Kol's so close to coming back. So is Finn. I can't leave New Orleans now."

They had chosen the day before that Finn was most likely the safer option between him and Henrik to bring back from the dead. They couldn't stand the idea of denying Finn the chance of life, for a very slim possibility of Henrik's rebirth.

"So the only way for you two to be together," she said, "is if she comes to you. I know her. That won't happen."

He shook his head. "No. When all this has blown over, when Kol and Finn are used to being alive again and Klaus and Marcel's little squabble has been fixed, then I'll go after her. But I simply can't right now."

She nodded. "I'm sorry you can't be with her, Elijah."

"I am, too."

 **Thursday 15/09**

 **14:10pm**

 **Church – New Orleans**

"Good afternoon, Marcel," Klaus greeted, half yelling as he strutted into the church. Marcel did the same from the other side, eyeing Klaus with distaste, and the look was mutual. The sun was shining brightly through the window, illuminating their faces, so their skin appeared to be glowing. Marcel was laughing. "What's so funny?" Klaus asked as they both stopped walking, facing eatchother about 6 feet away from eatchother.

"You," Marcel said, as if the answer should have been obvious. "You say you hate me, yet you want to meet me. To challenge me? Oh, Nik. You'll never have what I have. You'll never have the loyalty I have from my army. From my Kingdom. A kingdom you'll never own."

"We'll see," Klaus said. "I'm not exactly here to challenge you, Marcel. I'm here to tell you that war is officially on. I've been busy lately, but I will take from you what is mine. My rightful kingdom. You'll see. You are nothing compared to me, and you never will be. Good luck on your side of the war."

"Back at you," Marcel sniggered, as Klaus turned to leave. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Tell Rebekah I said 'Hi'." Klaus turned back it him, angrily. "I hope to see her beautiful ass in my room tonight." He was smirking at Klaus' anger, as if it was misdirected and silly, but nobody could help themselves from getting mad when their younger sister was spoken about disrespectfully.

Klaus growled, struggling to keep calm. "That's the difference between us, Marcel. You see, you say I will never have your kingdom, but you're wrong. I will slaughter you, and your precious 'family', and build my own on your turf. But you... I say you will never have my sister, and I'm right. You'll never have the love from her that you want. She despises you, Marcel. She wants nothing to do with you."

"Really?" he challenged. "You see, I've had her before. In my bed. I can have her again, you'll see."

Klaus laughed. "That's what I love about you, Marcel. You're so blissfully ignorant. But I'll tell you something. Did you know that the biggest star in our galaxy is so big, it would take a Passenger Plane 1100 years to fly around it? Hard to imagine anything could be so big, yet it is merely a speck compared to the rest of the galaxy that we take refuge in. And there are billions of other galaxy's with billions of other stars in each of them, and each galaxy is completely and utterly minuscule compared to the infiniteness of the universe."

"What's your point?" Marcel asked, clearly frustrated with the space lecture, narrowing his eyes at Klaus.

"My point is," Klaus said, his voice going from majestically interesting to a low growl of irritation, "you are not the centre of the universe."

 **Friday 16/09**

 **13:08pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

Rebekah and Klaus had spent a full day out shopping, looking for things for Kol, things he liked and needed. They embellished his room. They thought about doing the same for Finn, but Finn had been in a box for 900 years and then tried to kill them all so none of them had any idea what he actually liked.

It was a shame, really, and they all felt rather censurable about it, but they agreed that it was Finn's own fault for not liking or trusting them. So Finn would have to deal with a plain, boring, guest bedroom. He would also have to be watched full time for signs of treason, in case he tried to kill them again.

"Oi," Rebekah called, swaggering into Klaus' room, bursting the door open, dramatically. "Are you going to help us move stuff into Kol's room or what?"

"What," Klaus replied, simply. He was sat on a stall behind his art equipment, painting something. "And may I suggest, little sister, that you learn how to knock? We would hate for a repeat of the last time you barged in uninvited."

Rebekah cringed at the memory. "What are you doodling now?" she asked, walking behind him to see an elaborate painting of Caroline Forbes wearing the blue dress she had worn to their mother's ball. Klaus sighed in frustration at his sister's intrusion on his private art works. "Whoa," she said. "You really are obsessed."

"Obsession with something as divine as Caroline Forbes," he said, not at all defensive, but philosophical, "is obsession well spent." He finished a brush stroke, creating a more golden look to her hair.

"It's still creepy," Rebekah stated. "If you love her so much, why don't you just go and visit her?"

Klaus furrowed his eyebrows together and looked at her oddly. "She hates me."

"Which only makes it more creepy," she laughed.

Klaus rolled his eyes and huffed, putting the brush to one side and admiring his finished work. "I simply want to remember everything about her and I have to have some insurance that in a few centuries, I won't begin to forget her sky blue eyes or room-lighting smile."

Rebekah noticed several other painting of Caroline in multiple different dresses, normal clothes, and pyjama's when she was dying and Klaus saved her, despite the fact that he was the one who put her life in danger anyway. "Klaus," Rebekah said. "You already had a thousand pictures of her, you don't need any more."

"They're not right," he said, simply.

Rebekah rolled her eyes and paused, not quite knowing what to say next. "Okay, well, she may hate you now, but she's not going to begin to like you if you don't try. You just sit there drawing her when you should be out trying to charm her. Perseverance, Nik. Ever heard of it? Go and visit her."

He looked up at her as if he just realised she was in the room. "Maybe one day, after Finn and Kol have been welcomed."

"I believe Elijah is taking the same approach about Katerina," Rebekah said. "By the way, you're incredibly mushy for The Hybrid." It was only after she said it when she realised why. The baby had turned out not to be his, but it had still changed him. He had still been ready to be a father, or readier than he had been before. He had softened up for that child, so that the girl wouldn't be raised with a monster for a father. Klaus was still a monster, they all were and always would be, as proven by the dead body in the garden that Rebekah had yet to burn, the girl who had been Klaus' breakfast. Klaus was still a monster, but maybe a little less so when it came to the ones he loved, including but hopefully not limited to: Caroline Forbes.

"I guess I am," he muttered absent-mindedly after a pause. Rebekah knew her theory was right, but maybe Klaus didn't.

"Well, so am I," she said, trying to cover up her mistake. "And Elijah... well sometimes he shows emotion and I guess that's all we can ask for." Klaus laughed. "Elijah laughed yesterday," she said, "and I think he made a joke about not caring about me. Oh well, he loves me really. So do you. Now, I have a room to help decorate. See, you later, Nik."

 **Friday 16/09**

 **14:26pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

Rebekah and Elijah finished arranging the furniture in Kol's room. They put everything back where it was before, the bed against a wall, the desk under the window, the wardrobe against the opposite wall, ect. "I'm going to set up his technology," Rebekah said.

"Do you need my help?" Elijah asked, politely.

She shook her head. "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked. "Mine is in my room and I need to call a friend briefly."

Elijah nodded, handing her his phone before leaving to see Klaus downstairs. Rebekah laughed at his lock-screen. It was a "selfie" she had once taken with Klaus. She unlocked his phone before noticing the home-screen. It was another "selfie" that he was included in. It was taken by Katherine Pierce. She had her arms around him and was kissing his cheek and Elijah was portraying one of his rare smiles. Rebekah took a short detour on his phone to his photo's and scrolled through to that picture. It was one of multiple "selfie's" by the pair. Him kissing Katherine's cheek, both of them facing the camera and laughing, Katherine was always behind him with her arms around him as he sat down. Elijah always seemed mildly annoyed to be in the picture, but willing to sit still as Katherine took their "selfie". Rebekah rolled her eyes before dialling the number she had taken his phone to call.

"Bailey," she said when the phone picked up. "What have you got for me?"

Bailey was one of the boys in her little vampire clan, one of the smartest and most collected. She often used him as her second-in-command. "Josh is one with a daylight ring, so he goes out sometimes during the day, but not without vampire friends, Marcel, Klaus or Davina. He never seems to be alone."

"He has a room to himself, no?" Rebekah asked, sitting on the edge of Kol's bed. She had yet to change the boring, white guest sheets to black ones.

"Yeah, he does," Bailey said. "But we would have to sneak past the whole army. It's right at the back of their hideout. Can you help?"

"You're not children, Bailey," Rebekah complained. "Figure it out! Don't do it until the night, okay? We don't need people noticing he's missing. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it," he said.

"I've got to go, Rebekah said. "Behave yourselves."

Elijah reached the bottom of the stairs and went into the lounge, where he poured himself a glass of scotch. Klaus also had a glass of the same drink and Elijah sat opposite him on the armchairs. "Is Kol's room ready?" he asked, putting aside the book he was flicking through.

"Almost," Elijah said, sipping his drink. "Rebekah's applying the finishing touches as we speak. What have you spent your day doing?"

"Drawing, reading," Klaus said. "I do apologise for my lack of effort lately, concerning Kol's bedroom, I just really have not been in the decorating mood. Can I ask you something?"

"Considering your lack of intelligence, I recommend you ask my many things," Elijah teased, making Klaus smirk. "Go on."

"Has our darling sister recently spoken to you about your love for Katerina?" he asked.

Elijah raised an eyebrow, remembering his and his sister's conversation the day before, just after that nonsense banter about him 'not caring' if she screamed in the middle of the night. Of course he really cared, but he hadn't joked for a while, so it seemed appropriate. "Why do you ask?"

"Because earlier she asked me about my affection for Caroline," he said. "She tried to convince me, however briefly, to drop my life here and chase after her. Suggesting that I should learn some spontaneity. Did she perhaps suggest the same for you?"

"We may have discussed a topic along the same lines," Elijah said, nodding. "Do you think she wants us out of town?"

There was a long pause before Klaus spoke. "Rebekah mentioned that I seemed mushy, earlier. I'm telling you this, because what I'm about to say could also we categorised with the same adjective, so before you make fun of me, understand, my brother, that I already realise that I appear somewhat soft, lately," he said. "But it appears to me, that with the hopeful rise of our two brothers, Finn and Kol, we have all become... happier. I believe we have begun to respect eatchother more, and the theory has crossed my mind that Rebekah may just want us to be happy."

Elijah paused, again sipping his drink. "I do not believe that was a mushy as you expected it to be."

"Well if one is criticised to be mushy, then they must take action to destroy such claims," Klaus said. "I wondered, when all of this is over, and Finn and Kol are settled into the world of the living, and this petty war is over, will you go after her? Katerina, I mean. Now that there is no baby to raise, you will have no reason to stay."

Elijah rolled his eyes. "Possibly. The baby wasn't the only person keeping me here, Niklaus. If I stay it will be because of my entire family. What about you? Will you chase after Miss Forbes?"

"I most likely will," Klaus said. "But I do doubt that it won't be too late. I can always hope. But, under the light that the very thought of Caroline cast over my mind, I feel compelled to tell you... if you ever do decide to go after Katherine, then I won't seek revenge on her. I owe you, I suppose, for staying with me after all I've done."

Elijah paused. "Miss Forbes must be some woman," he said, finally. "I've never seen you say anything like that purely because the thought of someone makes you a better person. Thank you, Niklaus."

Klaus raised his glass before drinking. "I can be nice sometimes. I don't suggest you get used to it."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Elijah said. "So, who are you planning on daggering next?"

 **Friday 16/09**

 **18:45pm**

 **The Attic – New Orleans**

Davina had re-read the spell a billion times. She hadn't read many spells, or performed half of them, but from what she had seen, the spell seemed legitimate. "Are you even sure this will work?" Davina asked, standing, facing her mirror while she held the spell in one hand.

"It was written by my wife," he said. "It will work, I'm sure of it. She was never wrong. She wrote so many spells... one day, our son was killed, and she wrote this spell to bring him back. But she was killed by Klaus before she could carry it out. I suppose that explains my grudge."

Did he expect her to feel sorry for him? He was going to sacrifice her! The plan was that she would die during the spell and bring the lives back through her death. A life for a life. Except she was planning on bringing back two people, so she wondered how that worked. Was she really worth that much?

"No," she whispered. "No, I'm not doing this!"

The man in the mirror raised an eyebrow. "Yes you will. It's the only chance of Klaus' destruction. You wanted him dead."

"But I didn't want _me_ dead," she said. "I shouldn't have to die for this! There are other ways, and if I'm going to kill them it will be to save people. Not for you, not for anyone. I can't believe I didn't do this before."

She had tried to destroy the mirror, she had thrown everything she owned at the glass, hoping to smash it. It was worth the bad luck. But it wouldn't crack. Instead, this time, she opened the small window she had and dragged the mirror over to it. "You'll regret this," the man whispered, as Davina lifted the mirror and begun to fit it through the window.

"I really won't," she contradicted, pushing the window out a dropping it out of the church. She sighed and closed the window, trying to think of a cover story for if Marcel asked why her mirror was thrown out of the window. She turned around.

"I told you, you'd regret it," he said. The man was stood in the slight reflection in the window glass. Again, his prescence made the glass unbreakable and she couldn't throw the window out of the window.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

He smirked. "I'm Mikael. As in Mikaelson. The worst of them all."

-0-0-0-0-0-

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **6:00pm**

 **ELIJAH**

The very second his watch told him it was 6:00pm Elijah walked into the church. There was already vampires around him, crumbling to the ground, blood pouring out of the chests and decapitated heads. He fleetingly saw Klaus among them, in wolf form, surprisingly, biting and ripping them. They were too concerned with the wolf to pay any attention to Elijah who sneaked right past them. He ascended the staircase to the church attic and knocked twice on the door.

It opened slowly to Davina, who stood behind it. She was dressed for a hike in the woods, in tatty jeans and a ripped grey jacket, her hair in a ponytail and hiking boots on her feet. She stood back and Elijah entered her room. "My brother is going to inform me when it is safest for us to leave."

"Okay," Davina said. "Is he downstairs?"

Elijah nodded. "He is quickly ridding the guard placed around you of their lives. It shouldn't take long. Marcel has placed more guards than usual to protect you since Niklaus declared war. I do believe he is trying to avoid situations like this."

"What, you kidnapping me?" Davina asked. "I'm choosing to go. These guards are to keep me in as much as they are to keep you out." She pulled out a box from under her bed and took out the Grimiore. She took the spell out from between it's pages. "How long do you think it will take before we can leave?"

"Not long," Elijah said. "The plan is for Klaus to scout the area afterwords for any hidden spies. We would like for Marcel to not realise you are gone for as long as we can keep it that way."

Davina nodded. "Seems smart. I've read this like, a thousand times."

"And I," Elijah said. "Seems impossible, does it not?"

"Yeah, it does," Davina agreed. "But at the same time, it's so real."

When he received Niklaus's text message telling him the coast was clear, he lead Davina out of the church, always looking over his shoulder for spies Klaus may have missed. There didn't seem to be any.

Davina sat in the passenger seat of his car. She, too, looked nervously around herself, constantly, for any sign of danger. "Are we going straight to the forest?"

Elijah shook his head. "You said the White Oak Stake was necessary. It is left in a safe at our home. We'll have to go and get it first. Then we meet Rebekah at the forest."

"When does Marcel come?" she asked.

"Niklaus will hopefully arrive at the forest with Marcel at 9:00. We are doing this whole night early, so we have time to spare if anything goes wrong. You see, this is very important to us, so we can't risk anything not going according to plan." Davina gulped.

When they arrived at the Mikaelson Mansion, Elijah opened her door for her to get out of his car and lead Davina up to the front door. He unlocked it and stepped inside, looking around for the very likely possibility that Marcel had sent some of his men there. They seemed clear so he lead Davina to the lounge where she sat down.

He lifted away the painting and opened the safe, bringing out the White Oak Stake. "Why do you need this, again?" he asked.

"It's the one thing that can kill an original," she said. "It balances out nature, so nature won't get mad at me for bringing your brothers back."

Elijah considered this for a second. "All right, then," he said.

"Big place," she commented, awkwardly.

He smirked. "What did you expect?"

"This," Davina said, gesturing to the living room around them. "But like... with a dungeon or torture chamber underneath." Elijah paused and Davina came to a conclusion. "You guys actually have a dungeon or a torture chamber under this house, don't you?"

Elijah nodded. "Something like that."

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **6:00pm**

 **KLAUS**

It was … refreshing to be in his wolf form. It seemed like he was always in his vampire form, on two legs, arms swinging at his side. It hurt, transforming, but as an Original, a lot less so than the average hybrid. At exactly 6:00pm he charged into the church, an unholy being, attacking more unholy beings on holy land. If God existed, he would be mad. But Klaus was going to hell anyway, so he might as well enjoy the ride. He attacked the first guard, who fought back considerably, but paid hardly any attention to Klaus' little group of vampire minions.

They dealt with one guard after another, taking them down, one by one. Klaus barely got a scratch on him, and every little cut, bite, or bruise healed almost instantly. He was invincible. He saw Elijah sneak away to Davina's bedroom, but he didn't pay any attention to him, but continued to attack Marcel's men. He heard one of the guards on a phone, probably to Marcel, asking for back up, but one of Klaus' vampires stole the phone before he got the message across.

Finally, all of Marcel's guys had been killed. Klaus' leftover vampires, the survivors, immediately scouted out, beginning to search the perimeter of about three blocks, looking for any sign of Marcel's back up. Klaus changed back into vampire form. He looked down on himself and realised that he had forgotten something crucial. He was naked. He looked around for a dead body with the best clothes. One decapitated soldier had very little blood stains on his grey t-shirt and skinny black jeans, so Klaus changed into his clothes. He left the man's underwear. That was just disrespectful and disgusting.

The fight had lasted for twenty minutes. Another twenty minutes after that, his little survivors came back, reporting that there were no spies within the perimeters. "Okay," Klaus said. "That's good news. Now, look at me, all of you." They all did as he asked them to. Now, there was simply no point in keeping useless soldiers that can only tell your secrets and prove your battles. "Reach into your own chest and pull out your own heart," he compelled. They all did as he asked and dropped to the ground, dead and bloody.

"Good minions," he whispered, smiling to himself. Of course he had other minions, centuries old vampires who didn't particularly need to be compelled, but there was no point in pulling out the big guns on such a baby battle.

"Dramatic," said a drawling voice from behind him. He turned to see, surprise, surprise, Marcel, strutting into the church, like he had a couple days before hand.

"Good evening, Marcel," Klaus greeted, clapping his mildly bloody hands together once and stepping toward him. "Like my little bloodbath?"

"Spilling blood on holy ground," Marcel observed. "You were never one for rules."

Klaus nodded, smiling. "You remember?"

"Now, if you had attacked my home," he said, "my palace, I mean, where all of my friends are, where my kingdom is-"

"We get it, Marcel," Klaus said. "Go on: If I had attacked that other place..."

Marcel looked annoyed at the interruption. "If you had, I wouldn't be that suspicious. Just pissed off. Now, you've attacked this church. You want Davina, don't you? You're not getting her."

He had already sent the text to Elijah telling him to take her out. She would already be at the Mansion by then. "Good try," Klaus said. "Really, a nice little theory. But come on, Marcel. I'm clearly not working alone."

Marcel growled, realising what Klaus had meant. "Where is she?"

"Go and find her," Klaus said, nodding to the stair case before turning on his heal and walking out.

He waited outside, just to the left of the door to the church. He countered exactly thirteen long seconds before he heard Marcel slam to door to Davina's room open. "Davina," he called. "Davina, where are you?"

A couple seconds later he must have come to the conclusion that she was, indeed, gone and stormed back downstairs and out of the door to where Klaus was waiting.

Marcel walked straight past him and Klaus attacked him from behind, knocking his out with two simple moves. He kicked the back of his legs, making him unstably fall to the floor on his knees, before taking his neck and twisting it.

Marcel fell to the floor, efficiently knocked out. Klaus smiled at his handiwork and picked Marcel up, loading him into the back of his car.

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **6:00pm**

 **REBEKAH**

She knew that at the point of 6:00pm, Elijah and Klaus would have begun to attack Marcel's vampires to take Davina to the forest. Rebekah, however, was so far out of the action. She had just finished checking that everything she needed or wanted was in her bag, including a couple blood-bags for Kol and Finn (and a few for her, in case she got a little famished).

She strutted out of the house with that swaggering walk she went everywhere with. She was dressed like she would for Gym at high school. She wore leggings, trainers and a tank top, her blonde hair in a ponytail. All of her night was spent in the woods, so what was the point in looking perfect if one was going to get leaves in ones hair?

She climbed behind the wheel of her red car and sped away.

When she arrived on the outskirts of the forest, she climbed out of the car and looked around, flinging her bag over her shoulder. "Bailey," she called, quietly.

"Hey, Rebekah," said another voice. A group of her female minions greeted her, coming out of the woods, dragging a tied up Josh behind them. "It was so hard. But we did it."

 _Of course you did, I compelled you to_ , Rebekah thought. "Thanks, girls," she said aloud. "I know I couldn't trust the boys with this." The three girls showed her where on the ropes had vervain soaked into them, so Rebekah could drag him along without hurting herself.

Josh stayed asleep as she dragged him roughly over rocks and logs and leaves. They were followed by two of the three girls, the third having gone home. They talked on about their struggle for an escape route after kidnapping Josh, boring Rebekah out of her mind. "Penelope," she said, firmly after a while. "Shut up."

Penelope didn't seem to be offended. The trudge through the woods was a long one, but Rebekah didn't use her vampire speed once. She had to be aware of her surroundings, and she couldn't be as aware as she should be when she was zooming past tree after tree, being hardly able to hear anything other than the sound of her whooshing.

They finally came across a man, facing them, looking Rebekah in the eye. Rebekah recognised him as one of Marcel's guys. She ordered her girls to go on, with Josh to their destination. "You must be really stupid if you think you can take me," she smirked. "I'm a 1000 years old, little boy."

"Marcel didn't send us to kill you," he said. "He sent us to stall you." He ran at Rebekah who punched him straight in the face, so hard his head fell off, killing him. She felt arms wrap around her from behind. She slammed her foot into one of his, elbowing him in his stomach. She reached up and slammed her other elbow into his nose, breaking it before lifting her other foot to kick him as hard as she could in his groin. She laughed at the thought that she may have popped something. She turned and quickly ripped out his heart before continuing through the forest.

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **7:00pm**

 **ELIJAH**

Davina had gone over the spell a couple more times before she told him that she memorised it. Elijah had offered her a drink or something to eat but she had declined. He assured her that they did have food in the house that wasn't blood, but she still had refused.

Elijah had escaped to the kitchen to drink out of a blood-bag. If Davina was going to be taking some of his strength, then he would prefer to at least not be hungry. They stayed in the house for a while, and it wasn't until 7:20pm that they actually left. They sat in the same seats of Elijah's car, the stake on the dashboard.

They were silent for the entire car ride there. Davina watched from out of the window, as if trying to memorise every dim light that was slowing turning on to beat the increasing darkness of the night that was settling over the city. They arrived at the forest at 7:40pm and sat in the car outside, waiting for the signal they would get from Rebekah. "Are you scared?" Elijah asked Davina, trying to look comforting.

She turned to him, looking into his eyes. "Yeah," she said. "It's a big spell and I'm so new at this. What if I screw up?"

"You won't," he said.

"But what if I do?" she asked. "I mean... You guys have been looking forward to this for a week. What if I mess up and you guys don't get your brothers back? I don't know how you would take it, but Rebekah and Klaus would probably rip me to shreds."

Elijah paused for a minute. "Davina, you've memorised the spell. You're the most powerful witch in New Orleans. On top of your own power you will be taking my strength. You have everything you need to do this."

"Do I have 100 candles and a pentagram of salt?"

Elijah nodded. "That's what Rebekah's doing now. And there's her signal," he said, hearing her whistle. "Okay, let's go."

He, once again, opened the door for her and they begun to walk through the forest. Davina appeared to be afraid of the forest alone, which was acceptable since she had been part of an attempted sacrifice nearby. She slipped her arm through his and held onto him as they walked through the woods. Elijah didn't particularly mind. She was doing his family a huge favour, the least he could do was be someone to lean on when she was afraid.

They had been walking for almost an hour before anything mildly interesting happened. It was 8:40pm when they saw Klaus, walking up behind them, dragging Marcel who was tied up in vervain laced ropes behind him. Klaus was holding him, uncaring by the ankle. "Elijah, Davina," Klaus said, walking up to them. "Everything going to plan so far?"

Elijah nodded. "Indeed. What about you?"

"Perfectly," Klaus said. "I just got here. Do you have the White Oak Stake?"

"I do," Elijah said. "Why?"

Klaus shook his head. "That's a mild relief. I thought I was supposed to get it, so when I went home I was the tiniest bit worried that it had been stolen. Anyway. Hope you don't mind me using my hybrid tricks to over take you." He zoomed away.

Elijah shook his head, irritated by his inability to be entertained in this God Forsaken forest.

Finally, after too long of being bored, they arrived at their destination: a graveyard almost as old as he was. "Where is Niklaus?" he asked, seeing Rebekah, sat on a boulder with her legs crossed, but no sign of his brother. The graveyard was covered with unlit candles surrounding a large pentagram made of salt.

"He hasn't arrived yet," Rebekah told him. "Why?"

"Because I saw him in the woods about twenty minutes ago," Elijah said. "He ran ahead of us."

She shrugged. "Maybe he got held up. Marcel's sent his bitches this way. He's probably dealing with them."

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **7:40pm**

 **KLAUS**

Marcel was beginning to wake up when Klaus arrived home, Marcel thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Klaus didn't actually put him down until they were in the lounge.

"Where's Davina?" was Marcel's first question as he begun to sit up on the couch Klaus had laid him on, his hand rubbing the back of his recently snapped neck.

"Well then," Klaus said. "I must say I'm offended you asked about her before me. But, oh well." He snapped Marcel's neck again, sending him back into unconsciousness. He shook his head and opened the safe, looking for the White Oak Stake.

He shuffled around files, sure that the Stake had been at the front, but finding himself unfortunately out of luck. The Stake was gone. The only people who knew the combination to the safe was himself, Rebekah and Elijah, so he wasn't hugely concerned, one of them had probably taken it.

He called Rebekah, but the phone kept breaking up so he couldn't hear anything that she said. He rolled his eyes and popped downstairs to the basement they often used as a torture chamber. He collected some vervain-laced ropes that only stung a little and used them to tie Marcel up. Marcel hissed at the vervain in his sleep.

He also stuffed some blood-bags into Marcel's pockets for Finn and Kol. He checked his time. It had been considerable long since he arrived at the house. It was 8:20pm. He grabbed Marcel's ankle before taking him outside. He zoomed away towards the forest.

In the forest, Klaus kept dragging Marcel along behind him, so his head kept banging over rocks and logs. Eventually he woke up. "Klaus, what are you doing?" he croaked. "Where are we?"

"Look around you and make an assumption," Klaus laughed, lifting him up only to bang his head against a rock hard enough to knock him out. His head snapped around, hearing voices close by. "Elijah, Davina," Klaus said, walking up to them. "Everything going to plan so far?" Davina was holding onto Elijah's arm courteously.

Elijah nodded. "Indeed. What about you?"

"Perfectly," Klaus said. "I just got here. Do you have the White Oak Stake?"

Elijah and Davina stopped walking to talk to Klaus. "I do," Elijah said. "Why?"

Klaus shook his head. "That's a mild relief. I thought I was supposed to get it, so when I went home I was the tiniest bit worried that it had been stolen. Anyway. Hope you don't mind me using my hybrid tricks to over take you." He zoomed away.

He kept running until his path was blocked by three or four vampires, attempting to tower over him intimidatingly. He rolled his eyes. Marcel must have somehow found out that they would be in the woods that night and had most of his men stationed there.

"Give us Marcel," one of the ordered.

Klaus rolled his eyes, dropping Marcel's ankle. "Which one of you should I kill first?"

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **7:20pm**

 **REBEKAH**

When she arrived, the graveyard was extremely filthy. There was litter everywhere, syringes and packets of white powder, as if the place had been bombed with disrespectful, angst-filled teenager.

"Okay," Rebekah sighed, turning to her minions. "Penelope, you clean up the garbage. All of it. Madalyn, you watch Josh. If he even begins to stir, smack him with something hard. But whatever you do: do not kill him."

Her minions, like always, did as they were told. Rebekah, in the meantime, spent her time chasing away bunnies who took refuge there and convincing a hobo to leave. She brought a dustpan and brush out of her bag and had Penelope use the brush to swipe all of the leaves and dirt away. Worse than a rake, but it was necessary. She got a call from Klaus as she did so, but due to the forest, she was unable to hear him over the static. She wondered if something had gone wrong, but didn't have time to dwell on it. Two of Marcel's guys walked into the graveyard and noticed Josh.

She quickly whistled to Elijah, signalling him to bring Davina into the forest, guessing that it was an at least, twenty-forty minute walk, and by then, she would have the place ready.

"What are you doing with Josh?" one of the men asked, trying to seem intimidating. It was cute. Rebekah didn't even bother answering him. She just ran forward and pulled both of their hearts out.

She ordered Madalyn to forget Josh and dispose of the two bodies, which she did so. Rebekah then used the ropes that kept Josh tied up to hang him off of a tree a little while away, completely out of sight of the graveyard.

An hour after she had even arrived at the graveyard, it was finally ready. Penelope had set the candles around the pentagram that Rebekah had created from pouring salt. Eventually Madalyn came back from hiding the bodies of Marcel's bitches.

"Should I light the candles?" Penelope asked, pulling a lighter out from Rebekah's bag and flicking it on.

"No, of course not," Rebekah said, like she was an idiot. "The spell doesn't start for over three hours. Now, you two, listen. I need you to go and guard Josh. Make sure he doesn't escape and make sure nobody finds him. Don't move him, okay? Go."

After her minions left, she ran around the perimeter a couple times, looking for more of Marcel's friends before sitting on a boulder just as Elijah and Davina walked into the graveyard.

"Where is Niklaus?" he asked, taking his arm away from Davina's courteous hold. The witch begun to inspect the pentagram.

"He hasn't arrived yet," Rebekah told him. "Why?"

"Because I saw him in the woods about twenty minutes ago," Elijah said. "He ran ahead of us."

She shrugged. "Maybe he got held up. Marcel's sent his bitches this way. He's probably dealing with them."

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **9:20pm**

 **KLAUS**

The fight was quick and easy. A small group of vampires compared to The Hybrid. Their attempt to survive was completely laughable. After three of them fell, Klaus turned to look for the fourth. He had stolen one heart, ripped off one head and reached down one throat to pull out another's spine. It was bloody, gruesome and hilarious.

The fourth vampire, however was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Marcel, the sneaky little bastard. Klaus tuned in to his hybrid enhanced hearing and heard the vampire a little while away, trying to leave with Marcel.

Klaus ran so fast he was in front of the vampire in a second, despite the fact that they, too, had been using their vampire speed. The girl looked new, Klaus hadn't seen her before. She was leather-clad and had a choppy pixie cut. She couldn't have been much older than Davina.

"Give me Marcel," he ordered, in an attempt to be nice.

She shook her head, looking scared. "Never."

Klaus rolled his eyes. He was about to reach into her chest and pull out her heart but she interrupted him. "Davina isn't loyal to you."

"She's not exactly working for me," Klaus said, trying to snatch Marcel back, but she pulled him away.

"She told you she's going to bring people back from the dead, right?" she asked. "I had to guard her a couple nights ago. She was alone, but she was talking, like she was on the phone to somebody. She said how she didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Good thing I didn't have high hopes for her in the first place," he smirked, finally ripping her heart out and and throwing Marcel over his shoulder. He looked around him, mildly confused. "Which way did I come from?"

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **9:20pm**

 **REBEKAH**

After Davina had finished checking Rebekah's handiwork she sat in the middle of the pentagram and opened the Grimiore out in front of her, the ripped out page lying on top of it. "Elijah," she said. "When we start the spell, I'm going to need you to be inside of the pentagram. I'll also need Marcel and his sacrificer inside the pentagram. I need to draw energy from his death for Kol, and an Originals strength for Finn. Don't worry, when I've finished, you'll get it all back."

"Why couldn't you just take the energy from two Originals?" Rebekah asked. "Why do we even need to sacrifice Marcel?"

"Someone needs to die," Davina said. "To compensate. The Other Side doesn't want to give up your brothers. We have to give it something in return. Marcel's the ruler of New Orleans, he's powerful enough."

Rebekah nodded as though that made sense. "Okay then. So one death equals two lives?"

"No, one death and the strength of an Original equals two lives," Davina said. "I don't really get it, either. Anyway, who's going to kill Marcel?"

"Klaus'll do it," Rebekah said.

She knew Elijah would assume that she wanted Klaus to do it so she wouldn't have to kill an ex-lover, but really, she wanted her hands free so she can torture Josh if necessary.

Rebekah and Elijah stood up from where they had been sitting and ran to either side of Davina. A band of Marcel's men had begun to close in on them, forming a circle around them. Elijah and Rebekah looked at eatchother and nodded, silently agreeing to just keep them away from Davina. Before any of them could say anything, Elijah and Rebekah attacked.

For the next twenty or so minutes, they ran among the group, Elijah pulling out hearts and punching off heads, Rebekah stabbing then in the heart with twigs and pulling their spines out through their necks. She wasn't quite sure why it took so long, except both of the sibling enjoyed it. They liked making them run, making it seem as though they stand a chance and then murdering them. They liked the chase and they liked the game. They liked the left over vampire's begging for their lives and they liked making it seem as though they would be spared but then killing them anyway.

"I'll go out to look for more," Rebekah volunteered. "You get rid of these bodies." Elijah nodded, beginning to drag the carcases of the vampires to a nearby clearing. Rebekah waved goodbye to Davina before trudging through the forest alone. She used her vampire speed to run around the perimeter of the graveyard, spiralling outwards to widen the perimeter. She passed Josh who was waking up only to be hit on the head by her minions. She continued to run past, eventually stopping and beginning to walk around, running into the camp of twelve vampires, all Marcel's.

 **Sunday 18/09**

 **10:40pm**

 **KLAUS**

Klaus had found the correct direction through his vampire sight locating his faint, light footsteps. He trudged along, letting sleeping Marcel ride over his shoulder instead of being dragged along by his ankle. He was being quite polite to him after all, considering he was going to sacrifice him. After only a few lost detours he found the place.

Davina was sat by herself in the middle of a salt-pentagram surrounded by candles. "Where's Elijah and Rebekah?"

Davina pointed over to a small clearing where smoke was rising above the trees. "We were attacked by some of Marcel's guys, so Elijah went to go burn the body and Rebekah left to go and look for more."

Klaus shrugged not finding this very important. "Okay. Where do you need the sacrifice?"

"Somewhere in the pentagram," she said. "In the circle, but not in the actual star."

Klaus nodded and obliged, throwing Marcel down to her left. "I'm going to sacrifice him with the White-oak-stake, right?"

Davina nodded. "Yeah. You also have to be in the pentagram. I might accidently take a bit of your strength, but I'll try not to. If so I'm sorry, but don't worry it'll all be temporary."

"Okay," Klaus obliged.

 **11:20pm**

Over forty minutes had passed and Rebekah wasn't to be seen. Klaus was beginning to get worried. "I'll go out and look for her," he volunteered. Elijah had burned the bodies, put out the fire and returned by then.

"What could possibly have happened?" Elijah asked, looking around the forest.

Klaus shrugged. "I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I'm going to slaughter it." He took of running into the woods, picking up Rebekah's jasmine scent and begun to follow it.

Unfortunately he seemed to be out of luck. He couldn't find her anywhere. "Rebekah?!" he yelled, not caring if anyone heard him and came looking. He needed to find Rebekah and if they were the ones to hurt her then let them come. It will be entertaining to feed them their own hearts. There was no response. If Rebekah was still in the forest then there was no way she didn't hear them.

 **REBEKAH**

Originals were overall, considerably stronger than vampires, by an extreme long way. But, if twelve vampires have an admirably smart plan and are quick then they can briefly take an original down. She found herself surrounded, vervain being thrown at her and eventually a stake being driven through her heart and nailing her to a tree. She died, staring in the faces of the seven vampires that had survived her retaliation.

 **KLAUS**

One heart was ripped out. His hands plunged into two other chests, bringing their hearts out and throwing them onto the ground. The other four try to surround him, but picked one of them up and swung him around, knocking the other three heads off as he went. He killed the last vampire before running over to Rebekah.

He skin had went grey due to the stake through her heart. She would wake up in a few minutes and be able to pull it out herself, but if Klaus pulled it out then she would wake up earlier. He did so and Rebekah fell to her knees while opening her eyes. Klaus steadied her, letting her lean on him. She regained her balance quickly enough. "They were smart," she tried to defend herself.

"I know," Klaus said. She looked ashamed having been beaten. "Rebekah now is not the time for shame. Just remember little sister, that Elijah once allowed him to be staked by the Salvatore brothers. Now come on, we get our brother's back in twenty minutes."

They ran back to the graveyard together, neck and neck and arrived just in time. Elijah had lit all of the candles and was standing in his space in the pentagram, completely parallel to Marcel on Davina's right. Klaus stood over Marcel as the clock struck midnight.

"Are you guys ready?" Klaus smirked.

Davina nodded. "Let's begin."

* * *

 **This was originally two chapters, but I edited them together to make it less of another filler chapter. Again, please review! Thanks for all the follows and favourites so far! Have a lovely day!  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**So this chapter is pretty shorter than the others, but I'll probably update again before next week. Everything goes a little fast here. I probably could have made it longer, but I didn't. Sorry.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter FIVE  
**

 **Monday 19/09**

 **00:01pm**

 **The Graveyard**

It was an almost terrifying sight. Davina had blood running down her face almost instantly, Elijah slowly spiralled into more and more pain until he was on his knees in agony. Klaus knew at what point in the chant was his cue and he raised the stake to pierce it through Marcel's heart.

Rebekah heard her ex-lover scream in pain as he died and tried not to let it get to her but it did. She had been through so much with Marcel... She shook her head. He betrayed her. He wasn't worth her time. And she couldn't focus on what could have been. Not now.

Soon into the spell Elijah's head snapped up at Davina before he gestured Rebekah over. She ran to his side, not entering the pentagram but being as close to him as possible. She crouched down as he faced her, trying to stutter something at her, but he was in too much pain.

"What is it?" Rebekah asked, urgently. "What's she doing?"

He shook his head. "Wrong name," he groaned. "She said," he was interrupted by his own scream. "Not Kol!"

Rebekah's jaw dropped. "Who's she bring back?" she said, shoving him. "Listen to me!"

"Finn and Mikael," he groaned.

Rebekah stood up straight and nodded. "I'll take care of it." She ran into the woods, passing her minions. She unhooked Josh and ran back almost instantly, facing Davina.

"Oi," she called over to Davina who looked over at her. The witch noticed who she was holding. Rebekah plunged her hand into his chest.

"Rebekah don't you dare," Klaus called, shouting above the sound of Davina's chants. "He's my spy. Don't you dare, little sister! Put him down, there's a good girl."

She had no time for Klaus' patronizing threats. "Do the right spell," she ordered Davina. It only made sense that Elijah recognised a flaw. He had reread the spell a thousand times, if he was a warlock, he could have done it himself. Davina stopped chanting for a second. "Bring back Kol and Finn or Josh dies."

"Rebekah, DON'T," Klaus called, getting to his feet.

"Shut UP, Nik!" Rebekah ordered, facing Davina. "I'll do it. Don't test me, Witch-Bitch."

Davina gulped before redoing the spell, chanting as fast she she could at the top of her lungs. The candle fire flared up again, Klaus stared angrily at her, but she was looking at Elijah who was still in agony but nodded assuringly. Davina was doing the right spell. She kept her hand around Josh's heart, just in case, but Elijah never signalled to her to kill him.

Klaus kept yelling at her to put him down, but she didn't. She was very serious about getting her brother's back and she wasn't taking any of Davina's games. Josh was her leverage.

After a while of loud, desperate chants, Davina fell to the ground, in agony herself. As she fell, the fire died down, so Rebekah could really see the pentagram for the first time since the spell began, she could see everything clearly. Elijah stood up, slightly unstable, but not in any more pain.

Everything had stopped quicker than it began. Davina's heart beat was no longer audible, Klaus pulled the stake out of Marcel and the three of them edged the way over to the two bodies that were lying face down in front of where Davina had been standing. "Is it really them?" Rebekah asked, standing at their feet. Klaus and Elijah and her sought of made a triangle around the bodies.

"Are they really alive?" Klaus asked. Elijah knelt down to the body nearest to him and flipped it over. Finn's blank face stared up at him. He was unconscious, but not dead. That was clear by his skin. It was not the grey, vein covered skin that all dead vampires wore.

Klaus turned over the second body. Rebekah wondered whether it was Mikael, but she was so incredibly relieved when she saw Kol's undead face.

Klaus and Elijah carried them to the two cars that waited outside the forest, Elijah's and Rebekah's. Rebekah laid Kol down the back seat of her car and Finn, Klaus and Elijah drove back in Elijah's car.

Kol didn't wake up for the whole journey home. Rebekah speeded back, dangerously pulling up in the driveway. She got Kol out of her car and took him inside, flinging him on the bed in his new room. He was in the clothes he died in, so they were burnt and torn. She briefly changed him into a t-shirt and jogging trousers and sat on the chair behind his desk, waiting for him to wake up.

She sent a quick text to her minions, telling them to bring Josh back and convince him not to share anything. She vowed to compel him to forget later. She heard Elijah and Klaus sorting out Finn down the hall, giving him a bedroom and laying him down.

"Rebekah?" she heard Kol croaked, blinking out the lamp light from next to his bed. Rebekah wheeled the chair closer to him.

"Hey," she said, softly.

He seemed weak and needed sleep but he stubbornly refused until he apologised. "I'm so sorry," he said.

"What for?" Rebekah asked, touching his arm in what she hoped was a comforting manor.

"Threatening to kill you," he said. "I didn't mean it. I'm sorry I went against you."

She smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'm over it. I'm glad you're alive."

"Yeah, me too," he said. "Thank you for bringing me back. I never told anyone this, but you're my favourite."

"You shouldn't have favourites," she said. "But hey, you're mine, too. Don't tell the others. It was a group effort though, I can't take all of the credit."

"Thank you," he said. "Is Finn back as well?"

Rebekah nodded. "How long, do you bet, before he tries to kill us?"

"Tomorrow evening," he said. "At most."

She smiled. "Go to sleep. We decorated your room. There's some first addition Dickens books of the shelves and modern technology-"

He laughed. "Thanks, Bekah."

"You're welcome. Finn didn't get the same luxury." She got up and turned his light off so that he could sleep.

 **Monday 19/09**

 **01:27pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

When Finn woke up the first thing he did was try to leave, but Elijah and Klaus both took one of his shoulders and threw him back down.

"What do you want from me?" he growled, sitting in the bed in clothes he had died in. Rebekah had taken the liberty to at least fill his closet up so he could change, but first Klaus and Elijah had to talk him through something.

"All we wish for is for you to not kill us," Elijah said, as though the answer was obvious. "We bought you back to life so that we could have our brother back. We don't want you to ruin that."

"We did this because we love you," Klaus said, saying every word slowly and cautiously as if they might scare Finn. "So if you try to kill us, we won't kill you. We'll just dagger you for the next 900 years. Then we'll pull you out and try again."

Finn rolled his eyes, looking at Elijah. "Is he serious?"

Elijah nodded. "And I stand by him on this. The rules are very simple, Finn. You try to kill us, you get a dagger through you're heart and you get put in a box. We'll just keep trying every 900 years until you're harmless. Don't test us."

They left to let him sleep, but Elijah stayed outside. "I should probably keep watching him."

"I'll take over at 4:00am," Klaus offered, walking downstairs. He paced the lounge, having poured himself some bourbon. He would have to greet Kol in the morning, as he could safely assume he just wanted to see Rebekah, his favourite, that night. He had pulled out one of the Original daggers and covered it with white oak ash. It sat in his back pocket. He still wore the jeans from the dead vampire in the church.

Rebekah came downstairs and poured herself a glass of red wine. "Good job killing Marcel," she smiled, clinking her glass against his without his permission.

"Good job threatening to kill my only spy in New Orleans," he said, sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes. "Elijah told me that she was trying to bring Mikael back instead of Kol. I had to do something."

He nodded. "Good thing your first instinct was to go against me."

"That was not my first instinct," she said, defensively. "I wanted to threaten someone close to her. Josh was easy and available. I had some minions kidnap him. It wasn't anything serious. He's still alive, isn't he?"

"You're right. What do you mean by minions?"

She shrugged. "I have a few vampires compelled. But don't we all? We're Originals for Christ's sake."

"I agree," he lied, raising his glass. "To having our brother's back"

She smiled, touching his glass with her own, but before she could raise it to her lips, he drove the dagger through her heart. She gasped as he took her drink away from her so it wouldn't spill. She begun to fall and he let her lean against him. "I'm sorry, sister," he said. "But New Orleans isn't completely mine. I can't have you go against me again. It's your own fault it came down to this. Maybe a nap in your coffin will teach you how to behave."

When she completely crumbled, giving him the heartbreaking look of betrayal she always did when he daggered her, he carried her down to the basement and locked her in her coffin. He then took the coffin to the front door where he met one of his own minions.

"Take her to the storage unit," he ordered, looking up at the house. All of his brothers were upstairs, they wouldn't see what he did. "Hide her away. Forget what I asked you to do after you do it. Don't talk to anyone on your way."

He let Rebekah go to one of his minions and stepped back inside, finishing his drink as well as Rebekah's, wondering how he was going to defend himself against his brothers. Maybe he should just dagger them all.

 **Monday 19/09**

 **3:34am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

After a while of not being able to sleep, Kol got out of bed and left his room, watching Elijah sit on a chair down the hall, probably keeping watch over Finn. "Hi," Kol said, sitting on the floor next to him. Elijah looked at him and could immediately tell what Kol wanted to talk about.

"Not tonight, Kol," he ordered. "I give the lectures, I don't take them."

Kol shrugged. "I'm not going to lecture you. I know why you did it."

Kol had lived with him for about a fortnight when he had dated Katherine Pierce. Kol had made it very clear time after time how perfect he thought they were for eatchother and how much he liked Katherine. He had become friends with her, so he was pretty mad when, from the Other Side, he saw him leave her.

"I would probably choose my family over a romantic partner as well," Kol agreed. "Especially if there was a chance I was going to be an uncle. Uncle beats Boyfriend, after all. I just wanted to say I'm sorry that you had to leave her."

It was probably one of the maturest things Kol had ever said, so he couldn't wait until he could go back to being weird. "Thank you," Elijah said. "Welcome back to life."

"Thank you," Kol said. "It's great to be back."

 **Monday 19/09**

 **08:15am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

"Where's Rebekah this morning?" Finn asked. Him and Kol had cleaned up pretty nicely and sat around the breakfast table with Elijah and Klaus, who was flicking through the newspaper. Kol, Elijah and Klaus had all drank blood from a blood bag that morning, but Finn had refused to drink blood until he could get his hands on an animal, which made all brothers roll their eyes in annoyance.

"I'm not sure," Klaus said. "She went out last night, but she hasn't returned yet. We should be seeing her do the walk of shame any minute now. Anyway, Kol, how do you like your room?"

"It's cool," he said. "Thanks for the books. Rebekah said you didn't decorate Finn's room. How come?"

"Two reasons," Elijah said. "We didn't realise he would also be coming back to life until it was too late, and also due to his multiple attempts to kill us, we haven't had the chance to really get to know him, and know what possessions he likes."

"The colour red," Kol suggested. "Things that smell like sage. Done."

Klaus laughed but Finn did not look amused. "I'm going out," he declared.

"I'm coming with you," Klaus said.

Finn raised an eyebrow. "I understand that you don't trust me, but are you going to follow me everywhere?"

"Yes," said all three brothers, rising to go out with Finn. "For the next few years at least," Elijah said. "Until we're completely sure you aren't planning homicide. Not on your family at least."

"Killing other people is encouraged," Kol said. "Maybe the feel of a human heart in your hand will drag that stick out of your ass."

"I'm better than that," Finn said. "I'm not any of you, I don't kill people."

"Beautiful high horse you have there," Klaus commented. "Let's ride it into town."

 **Monday 19/09**

 **12:23pm**

 **Roseau – New Orleans**

"How did you not realise the baby wasn't yours?" Kol asked. Klaus had finished telling Finn and him about Hayley while sitting around a booth with a beer in each of their hands. They had given Finn the money to use so he can buy some stuff, as they didn't do it for him. They took him decorating his bedroom as a good sign, a sign that he wanted to stay.

"Well, the witches did some spells-" Klaus started but Kol interrupted.

"Right, Nature's loophole," he mocked. "No offence, Klaus, but all hybrids can't have kids. It's not supernatural, it's just nature. Mules, Ligers-"

"Did you just compare me to a mule?" Klaus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kol shook his head, laughing. "Okay, sorry. But seriously, do your research on hybrids. They can't reproduce. Sorry, but you're stuck in sterility with the rest of us. Also did you really expect 1000 year old sperm to still work? I hate to say 'I told you so' but if I was around when the witches told you you were going to be a father, then that is what I would be saying right now. You're so lucky I'm back."

"I don't think luck has anything to do with it," Elijah said. "We did bring you back, remember?"

"No, that witch Davina did," Kol said. "True, you guys helped, but it was mostly the witch." He took another sip of his beer. Klaus guessed that the last time the four of them sat down like that was when they were human.

"Davina tried to bring our father back instead," Elijah said. "Stop giving her so much credit."

"Rebekah hasn't answered any of my calls," Finn stated, looking down at his phone. "I have left her three voice mails. Has she changed her phone since last I lived?"

"Probably," Klaus said, rolling his eyes. That was the second time Rebekah was mentioned. He already decided that it was best for him to play dumb, but it was hard when he was so smart. "Anyway-"

"Did you actually ever get that Caroline girl to sleep with you?" Kol asked. "I missed the end of that story."

Klaus smirked, and shook his head. "No, I left for New Orleans before I convinced her to give me a shot. I did invite her to come, but she decided to go to college instead."

"That was stupid of you," Finn said, putting his phone away.

"What was?" Klaus asked. "Leaving her or inviting her to come with me?"

"Leaving her," he said. "There's no way she's going to give you a chance if you're about a thousand miles away. Idiot."

"I agree with Finn," Kol said. Then he looked surprised, as if he hadn't meant to say it. "Never thought I'd say that, but okay. There's a first time for everything. On that note, it's time to get Finn laid."

Klaus laughed but again, Finn did not seem amused.

"Finn, you did try to kill us all," Elijah said. "I do believe we are allowed to enjoy a little humour at your expense in return."

"For the record," Finn said. "I wasn't going to go through with it. Sage changed my mind. I was going to tell you that before Elena Gilbert and her friend killed me."

"Preach," Kol ordered, raising his beer. "Why is she still breathing after killing both of us?"

"You were always my least favourites," Klaus answered, smirking.

Kol rolled his eyes. "I realise that, Nik. But you must love us a little. Was it because you didn't want Caroline to be mad at you?"

"Shut up about her," Klaus said, drinking his beer. "I'm serious."

"To brotherhood reunited," Kol said sarcastically, raising his glass in a toast. Klaus, Finn and Elijah followed, clinking glasses together.

* * *

 **Please take a second out of your day to reveiw! -Izzy**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! I warned you I would probably update before Sunday since last chapter was a little rushed. Boom! Magic early update! I should warn you that Sophie's in this chapter. I know almost nothing of this character, her personality or storyline. I quite TO after 1x09. Good on me to stick with it for that long to be honest. Anyway, sorry of she's OOC, all I remember is that she wanted Marcel's vamps gone. -Izzy  
**

* * *

 **Chapter SIX**

 **Monday 19/09**

 **18:58pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn, Kol and Elijah had become officially worried about their younger sisters whereabouts. Neither Kol or Elijah could contact her through phones, so they checked all of the usual places and asked everybody they knew if they had seen her. They came up with nothing whatsoever. Klaus had gone out to find some food, so he hadn't become part of their worry-circle yet.

"Was she seeing anyone?" Kol asked.

Elijah nodded. "Marcel, but Klaus staked him during the ritual to bring you both back. Besides, she was over him."

"Her car's still in the driveway," Finn told them, though they had already known. "She could have just run somewhere."

"Are we sure she's not just sleeping upstairs?" Kol asked. He sat on the edge of the couch, looking ready to run at any instant. He had his phone in hand and was texting Rebekah a new message every second that had begun to just consist of her name, to try and rouse her attention.

"Maybe she went to the forest to mourn this Marcel person," Finn suggested, shrugging. He paced in front of Kol, also with his phone out, constantly pressing re-dial to try and get through to Rebekah, not even bothering to leave a message after a while.

"Yes and no," Elijah said, answering their questions. "I've briefly checked her room, she's not in there. And as I said, she was over Marcel, she would have told us if she went to go and see him. She would have told me at least."

"I have food," Klaus announced, strutting in, followed by three attractive women and a stray dog for Finn. It was his idea of a joke but his other three brother's was not in the mood to laugh.

"Rebekah's missing," Kol said. "We've looked everywhere, she isn't picking up her phone-"

"I wouldn't worry about it," Klaus said. "Bekah's a big girl now. She probably just needed a vacation."

"She left her car and all of her stuff in her room," Finn said, stopping his annoying pacing and facing Klaus. "Why would she go on vacation without packing?"

"How are you more concerned about Rebekah than I am?" Klaus asked. "You tried to kill her, if she left, you're probably the reason why."

" _Me_?" Finn asked. " _I'm_ the reason? You're the one who puts daggers through our hearts."

Then the three brothers, Kol, Elijah and Finn instantly knew what happened. "Why, may I ask?" Kol asked, more exasperated than angry.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "She went behind my back-"

"Of course she did," Elijah snapped. "That's always the reason, isn't it? We always betray you in some way, plot against you! Maybe we wouldn't feel the need to if you didn't do this to us!"

They rarely ever saw Elijah angry, but he was angry then. "She was going to kill Josh," Klaus said. "My only spy in New Orleans. I wanted Finn and Kol back just as much as she did, but she almost cost me this war-"

"War?" Kol asked. "For the city, right? That war is over, Klaus. Marcel. Is. Dead! The city is yours, now where is Rebekah?"

"The city is not mine until I have subjects, until people are loyal to me," he said. "It may take a while for the city to fully be mine. When it is, when there is no chance of her sabotaging my plans, Rebekah may be un-daggered. Then this city will be a place we can all call home-"

"A home we won't be in," Finn said. "We should have left you last time. Unfortunately for you, I don't see mother walking through that door and making us all stay. When we get Rebekah back, we leave, right?"

Elijah and Kol nodded. "I, personally thought you were past this," Kol said. "I thought you had maybe learned since last time. I must say I'm shocked and just the tiniest bit... disappointed."

"You may as well save us time and tell us where she is," Elijah said.

"You will not look for her," Klaus ordered. "She will be given back before long. Until then, I need you to trust me." He turned on his heel and walked out.

The three other brothers all turned to eatchother. "I know you two don't trust me," Finn said, "but it looks at though right now we all have to forget that and trust eatchother. I love Rebekah and I will help find her."

"Me too," Kol said. "I'll trust you for the short run on this and this only. Elijah?"

Elijah nodded. "I agree. We need a plan. And if Katerina Petrova has taught me anything then a plan B."

"And C, and D," Kol said. He had been friends with Katherine and he got the joke.

 **Tuesday 20/09**

 **11:12am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

"I've searched every inch of this house from top to bottom," Kol said into the phone. He was part of a three-way phone-call with Finn and Elijah who were both out. "I found a secret closet but no Narnia and no Rebekah. The basement is clear, although I found our coffins. Hers is missing. There is no clues in this house either, not that I found, anyway."

"Okay well, we'll need a separate plan before checking Klaus' room," Finn said on the other line. "I've searched all of Niklaus' hiding places among the city. All of the ones you told me about, anyway, Elijah."

"I know of no others than the one's I told you," Elijah said.

"Well she couldn't have left the city, could she?" Finn asked. "He could have hired someone to take her away."

"He doesn't trust anyone enough to do that," Kol said. "He loves Rebekah too much to send her away. I'm meeting that Sophie witch in half an hour. I'm good with witches, so I may be able to get her to do a tracking spell. Elijah, can you introduce us?"

"I'll meet you at the tomb in an hour," Elijah offered. "That's where Sophie spends most of her time. In the graveyard."

"The one we were resurrected in?" Finn asked.

"No, a newer one," Elijah said.

Kol rolled his eyes and shut the kitchen draw he was searching for clues. "Either way, it's weird. I'll see you there, Elijah. When are you meeting Klaus for drinks?"

"Noon," Elijah replied. "Not the best time for drinking, but we never do drink at the appropriate times. Finn, I'll text you when it's safe to go in his room. Check everything but don't leave anything out of place."

"I know," Finn said. "I have to go, I'll talk to you guys later. Finn left their little conversation."

"Is it really safe of us to let him out alone?" Kol asked. "He could be doing anything."

He heard Elijah snigger on the other end of the line. "What do you think I've been doing all day?"

"You're following him aren't you?" Kol asked, leaning against the worktop. "What's he doing?"

"Everything I told him to," Elijah said. "He's tediously well-behaved. I'll talk to you soon."

"'Kay, bye."

 **Monday 19/09**

 **11:42pm**

 **Graveyard Tomb**

Elijah met Kol outside of the graveyard exactly when he said he would, being annoyingly punctual. Elijah opened the gate and the two of them walked in, side by side. "Where's Finn?" Kol asked.

"He just got home," Elijah said. "I'm monitoring all phone-calls going in and out of the house so he can't do much damage from there. No idea where Niklaus is. Maybe with Rebekah, if only we knew where."

"Indeed," Kol said. It was a short walk through the graveyard to the tomb. Kol and Elijah went inside where Sophie was waiting for them.

"Elijah," she greeted unhappily. "You must be Kol," she said, throwing a hand out for him to shake. He took it but kissed her knuckles instead, always prepared for charm.

"Pleasure to meet you," he smiled, raising.

"Well, unfortunately I cannot stay," Elijah said. "I had made prior arrangements. Pleasure to see you again, Sophie."

Sophie and Kol sat on the stone bench in the middle of the tomb. "So, you're the youngest Mikaelson," she observed.

He smirked. "Second youngest," he corrected. "Rebekah may not be much younger than me, but she is, nevertheless. It is actually concern for Rebekah that brings me here, looking for help."

"If you want a spell done," Sophie interjected, "you'll have to look elsewhere. Marcel runs this city and while he's got Davina wrapped around his little finger, magic cannot be done in New Orleans. She can sense it and blab. Then Marcel will kill me and I have too many things to do to waste my time being dead. On that note, if a spell was what you were looking for, then I'm going to have to cut this meeting short."

Kol looked at her and smirked. "You must not have heard. It gives me great pleasure to announce that the witches of New Orleans are free. Marcel and his little bitch, oh I mean witch, are dead. You may do as much magic as you please."

Sophie's eyes widened, her jaw dropped. She got to her feet, looking scared and surprised. "Are you serious?" she asked.

Kol nodded. "I am, indeed. Their deaths bought me and my brother Finn back to life. I understand what it's like being banned from using your magic. I used to be a warlock you see, and my father disapproved. He was kind of a bastard. But that's not the point. I do need a spell done. But don't worry – it's a very simple tracking spell."

She nodded. "Yeah, why? Did you lose Rebekah?"

"Something like that," Kol nodded. "You heard of the Original daggers?"

He launched into the story, telling her about the tree, the ash, how Klaus has daggered them all on and off throughout the millennia. "Yeah, I'll do the spell," Sophie said. "Do you have something of Rebekah's? Better if it's something with meaning."

Kol took his sister's phone out of his pocket. He had found it in her room that morning. He knew Rebekah didn't really mind if her brothers went in her room. The room was a neutral zone most of the time. "Will this do?" Kol asked, handing it over.

Sophie took the phone and closed her eyes, performing the easy spell all witches knew. When her eyes snapped open she looked happy. "God, it feels so good doing magic again. I can tell you that she's in New Orleans. I saw something that looked like a garage door. I can't help you from there."

Kol nodded, taking the phone back and sliding it into his pocket. "Damn it, I checked the garage. Thank you Sophie, you've been a great help. Enjoy being able to use your magic."

"Thank you," she said, smiling as he left.

 **Tuesday 20/09**

 **Noon**

 **Roseau**

"I've decided to trust you," Elijah announced as Klaus sat on the bar stool beside him. Elijah had called him there to distract him as Finn searched his room and Klaus was clearly confused about it. "About Rebekah. You can't keep her daggered for too long, you never have."

Klaus smirked. "Maybe that is the case. I do love her, and the rest of you. I just don't trust her at the minute."

"And you trust Finn?" Elijah asked, wondering why Rebekah was in the box and not Finn.

"I trust Finn to try to kill us," Klaus said. "Not to mess up this war. It's nothing personal. She'll be un-daggered soon, I promise."

"I trust you," Elijah said. "As evidenced by my opening announcement. Finn and Kol don't, for the record."

Klaus paused, looking Elijah over, his eyes narrowing. "Give me your word."

"What?"

"You heard me," Klaus said. "I know how much you dislike breaking your word. Give me your word that you trust me."

Elijah was about to come up with some excuse when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and checked a text from Kol. **SD saw New Orleans and a Garage door?**

Elijah was about to text a reply when another text came through from Finn. **Receipt for Millward Storage Unit. She could be there?**

"Who's texting you?" Klaus asked, assuming that the messages were both from the same person.

"Katherine," Elijah lied. "I have to go, I'll see you later." He pretended to forget that Klaus asked for his word as he used his vampire speed to run out of there. He found Kol and Finn. He told them each what the other told him so they were all clear.

They all got into Elijah's car, Finn riding shotgun and Kol lounging across the back seat. Elijah drove as fast as the car would allow, the GPS system directing him to Millward Storage Unit on the other side of New Orleans.

 **Tuesday 20/09**

 **12:53pm**

 **Millward Storage Unit**

The storage unit, from the outside, looked like a block of bricks with the occasional window. It was certainly nothing special and therefore a building they all though unlikely to be associated with their brother. They pulled the car out and got out, seeing red paint across the side of the building, claiming they were in the right place. The found the door and found themselves faced with a receptionist. The woman had bleach blonde hair and orange fake tan.

"I.D," she said blandly. It appeared to be a question, but she didn't ask it as though she wanted an answer.

"That won't be necessary," Finn said, looking her in the eye, compelling her to let them past. This surprised both Kol and Elijah.

"Compulsion," Kol said, as the three of them walked through another door into a warehouse like a maze of garage doors. "I'm forced to say that I'm proud of you, Finn," he said.

"I dislike doing it, but sometimes it's needed," he admitted. Elijah opened the first garage door, without a key but with vampire strength. There was nothing inside apart from a few boxes of photo-albums and treasured memories. Elijah closed it.

"Well?" he asked, looking at his dumbfounded brothers. "Try some other doors."

They did as he said, opening door after door and coming up blank.

"How did they even get this in here?" Kol asked, finding a Ferrari in one. "This isn't a real garage..." He looked up and down the narrow corridor, pondering how the car became to be there.

"Does that car look like Rebekah?" Finn asked, sarcastically.

Kol tilted his head to look at it sideways. "Little bit," he admitted. "But it's not her, so I'm going to close this and keep looking," he continued, seeing the scary look Elijah was giving him.

Several doors later, they were getting bored and still had a billion doors to check. "I miss Rebekah," Finn said eventually.

"We all miss Rebekah," Kol said. "That's why we're here, dumb ass."

Elijah rolled his eyes, opening up another door. "Hey," he called to his brothers. They turned to look inside. It was completely empty accept from one wooden coffin, completely identical to the one's in Klaus' basement.

 **Tuesday 20/09**

 **15:45pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"Did one of you go in my room?" Klaus demanded, storming into the lounge. Finn, Kol and Elijah all sat around, trying to look casual with a book in front of each of them.

"What would give you that suspicion?" Kol asked, innocently.

"A line of powder on the threshold has a foot print in it," Klaus said, his voice ever raising.

"You really trust us so little you have a line of powder by your door?" Elijah asked, an eyebrow raising.

"Yes," Klaus said. "I have have very good reason to, as well. I know you three are looking for Rebekah. Just drop it, okay? It needed to be done, she'll be back in no time."

There was a pause. "Well I didn't go into your room," Elijah said. "I've been out all day."

"It wasn't me," Kol said. "I was out with Elijah for most of the time."

Klaus looked at Finn. "Well it wasn't me," Finn said. "I do believe, however, that Rebekah will be back much sooner than you believe."

"Is that a threat?" Klaus asked.

"No it's a fact," said Rebekah from behind him. Her three favourite brothers had un-daggered her a couple hours ago and she had woken up about a little bit before then. "How dare you dagger me?" she demanded, stepping closer to him. "I thought you were passed that but I guess I was wrong."

"I guess you were," Klaus said, aware of his three brothers standing up behind him. "So we're doing this again, are we?" he asked. "All ganging up on me when I was trying to fix this family? I daggered you so you can be released the New Orleans was under my reign, under _our_ reign! We could be mighty once more."

"If you wanted to fix this family you would stop tearing it apart," Elijah said. "We are mighty, but without you."

"Skip the dramatics," Kol ordered. "Long story short, Nik, the cars are pact and we are, how they say it these days, out of here."

"Don't go," Klaus said. "This is our city!"

"This is your city, Klaus," Finn said. "It's only your fault. You chose it over us."

Elijah walked over to the door, his three siblings behind him. He pulled it open but instead of walking out, someone walked in.

* * *

 **:0 SUSPENSE! :D sorry to stop here. Now, I could just add a little scene from next chapter... but I won't because I'm evil. Sorry. Anyway, reviews keep me going, so please, just quickly write one. They always make me smile. Look how much I write for you!  
**

 **Have a lovely day! -Izzy**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi all! I know this is an early update but I love updating, so... Yeah. Oops.**

 **So happy to read some of the reviews! It won't be long until Katherine comes into this story and their will be a lot from her POV! She is definitely mad at Elijah so you can bet she was angry when she got his messages! He looses his cool when he needs her!**

 **And YES, I will try my hardest to develop a Katbekah friendship because I love them so so much and I think they could be pretty bad ass together with the right motivation. I'm also really looking forward to writing about Koltherine friendship and Katholine! And I completely agree that The Originals is just a bad rip off of TVD. This fic actually started as The Originals that we should have gotten.  
**

 **However Kat doesn't come in to reign havoc for another couple chapter, so in the meantime, have you guessed who walked in at the end of last chapter? -Izzy  
**

* * *

 **Chapter EIGHT**

 **Tuesday 20/09**

 **15:51pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion – New Orleans**

"I was literally _just_ about to knock," Caroline Forbes said, barging in and walking straight up to Klaus. He was looking at her incredibly wide-eyed as if he had never seen anything so incredibly beautiful. "I wasn't eavesdropping or anything," Caroline insisted. "I was just about to knock, honest. Look, you four," she said turning away from Klaus. "Could you all postpone leaving for like, five minutes? I need to talk to Klaus privately.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Caroline demanded. She had laid a hand on his chest and pushed him into the kitchen, as if she knew the house and shut the door behind her. He hadn't said anything since she arrived but just gawked at her. "Like, seriously, Klaus? Daggering Rebekah, again? I overheard that much, anyway. But seriously, that's a shitty thing to do, under any context. I don't even know what happened, but you need to march out there, apologize to Rebekah like you mean it, apologize to the rest of them and the beg them to stay, do you hear me?"

He loved the way she demanded him to do stuff. He loved her angry, and he loved and missed the very sound of her voice. It all sounded like a perfect dream. It had happened so suddenly. "I can't believe you're actually here," he said, his frown turning into a smile as he tried not to laugh with excitement.

"Me neither," she said. She sighed and lifted herself up onto the counter, assuming it was okay to sit wherever she wanted. "I don't know why I'm here. It just sought of... happened. I had a, um, moment in Mystic Falls. A mental breakdown of some sought. I was really stressed with college and Elena was just... God! I don't even know. But you would think, that for me, due to my dramatic self that a mental breakdown would be beyond dramatic, but it wasn't. I was just studying and then I stopped. I packed a bag, and got on a train. I got off, not knowing where I was and got a motel. Then I got back on another train the next morning. This kept happening until I had been in every state. I travelled all over the U.S.A and didn't see any sights. Eventually I heard a conductor say we were in New Orleans so I just... got off. Now I'm here, and I'm telling you to go and apologize to your family for hurting them."

Klaus was silently staring at her during her entire speech, taking in every inch of her beautiful self. She looked angry and stern and Klaus knew she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, but he didn't want to talk to his siblings, he wanted to talk to her. "Caroline, Love-"

"We can talk after," she said, turning him around and pushing him back through the door. "Go on, I mean it." Out of the door, they faced him family. Caroline stood straight behind him, her arms crossed, clearly waiting for him to apologise to his sister.

"Rebekah," he said, turning to her. "I'm incredibly sorry for daggering you." He looked back at Caroline who made a rolling motion with her hand, ordering him to continue. "I understand that you were trying to save Kol and Finn and I'm sorry for not letting you." He turned to his three brothers. "I'm sorry to you three as well," he continued. He looked back at Caroline who said nothing but gave him a very stern look. "For daggering our sister. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me and please... please stay." He didn't make any eye contact during the whole speech, but just looked down.

Kol looked from Klaus to Caroline. "You are so whipped."

Klaus begun to say something but Caroline interrupted him. "Klaus," she said.

He rolled his eyes. "I assume you have luggage, Love?" he asked.

She threw some car keys as him, her arms still crossed. "I have a rented car outside. In the trunk."

He nodded, walking out the front door. Caroline smiled at his siblings, who all looked at her dumbfounded. "Nobody's ever been able to make him apologise," Elijah said.

She smiled. "Then maybe it's good for him if I stay a while," she suggested. "You're Elijah, right?" He nodded. "Katherine would talk about you all the time," she said, which made him look only more shocked. "Anyway, I have to go and check that Klaus isn't destroying any of my things."

She followed him out of the front door.

"Who is she?" Finn asked.

"Well," Rebekah said, "if Klaus did have any chance of redemption, that was her."

 **Wednesday 21/09**

 **07:31am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

When Caroline woke up the next morning, buried under a foot of thick feather duvet's and comforters, she had almost forgotten where she was. She saw hard floors, dark furniture with light sheets. The house itself was boiling, so she had slept completely naked, which may have been a risk in the house of Klaus, but she could trust him enough not to walk into the guest bedroom she was staying in while she slept.

At least she hoped she could.

She rolled out of bed and jumped into the shower, washing her hair with the coconut shampoo that she had bought. She dried her gold locks and her hair fell straight around her shoulders. She didn't bother curling her hair that day she just left it. She wore a purple dress with a cropped blue denim jacket and heels, applying her usual routine of make up before gathering the courage to walk out of her room.

She only got lost twice on the way down to the kitchen. It was such a big house with so many rooms that she was bound to end up in a library and not remember where the door to exit was. She could only wish that she wasn't going crazy.

When she finally did find the dining room, she walked in on Klaus and Rebekah arguing from across the table. They both turned to look at her when she walked in and Klaus kicked a chair out from underneath the table. "Caroline," he greeted. "Please sit," he asked.

"Yes, Caroline, do please join us," Rebekah sighed, sarcastically.

There was a pause while they both waited to see what Caroline would do. "I'm really getting mixed signals here," she said, holding up her hands in a mild attempt of peace.

"Allow me to tip the scaled a bit," another voice said from behind her. Elijah walked into the room. "Please, do take a seat."

Two against one. Caroline sat down and looked over the table. Someone, most likely one of Klaus' minions had set it with a large collection of breakfast foods. It all looked very appetizing but Caroline didn't eat. It seemed awkward enough without the risk of someone yelling _Who said you could eat that?_ at her.

"So where's Kol and Finn?" she asked, brightly. "I noticed they were alive..."

"It turns out a spell does exist to raise the dead," Rebekah said, picking up a newspaper from one end of the table.

"That's lucky," Caroline mentioned.

"Finn went for a walk," Klaus said. "Kol's always been a late riser. He's still sleeping. Are we keeping an eye on Finn, still?"

Elijah showed Klaus the screen of his phone, where he had a map of New Orleans and was tracking Finn. "Of course we are," Elijah said.

Klaus nodded, satisfied. He turned to Caroline. "I trust you slept well?" he asked.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah," she said, not knowing what to say. "It was great."

The Kol burst in, saying what was on Caroline's mind. "Well this is sufficiently awkward," he said, snatching up a piece of toast and eating. He turned to Caroline. "I can fix that," he continued. "Let's start by asking what's on everyone's mind. Are you and Klaus a couple now?"

"No," Caroline said, shaking her head.

"Good, the bastard doesn't deserve happiness," Kol said. "You can say that your night was shit due to the intense heat of this house, I mean, for God's sake, turn the heating down, people," he said, laughing at his siblings. "Now, all Rebekah wants to do is kill you, but Elijah wants to get you alone so he can ask about Katherine Pierce, don't worry, though, he's harmless. Klaus wants to have sex with you, so avoid _him_. There's blood bags in the fridge and yes, Caroline, you're allowed to eat the food on the table."

Caroline laughed. Kol's little speech made her feel considerably less awkward. He said it all very fast, but with a very comforting smile. He sat next to her at the table and offered her the jug of a coffee machine. "Thank God," she smiled, getting a mug and holding it out for him to pour coffee into.

"I apologise on behalf of my siblings," he said. "They're not very good at entertaining guests. I, on the other hand, can be considered to be your Fairy God Father. So ask me anything." He handed Caroline milk and sugar to put in her coffee. She was kind of surprised. She had always considered Kol to be evil, but he seemed nice enough and his smile was very warm and comforting. The other three Originals were just plain scary.

She laughed. "I'll come to you with any questions," she said.

Rebekah threw he newspaper aside. "I prefer Cosmopolitan. Or Vogue. Preferably Vogue Paris," she said absent mindedly.

"Of course," Caroline said. "Since Vogue Paris is like, the best thing to happen to the world, ever!"

Rebekah smiled. "I hate you, but you have your perks," she said, not looking Caroline in the eye.

There was another long pause, during which Caroline started and finished her coffee. "Well, I'm going out," Klaus finally announced, standing up and tucking his chair under, putting his mug of coffee down. "Caroline, would you care to join me? I would love to show you around New Orleans."

Caroline looked over to Elijah who seemed to be itching to talk to her. "I'll be there in a second," she smiled, going into the next room, shortly followed by Elijah. "So you have questions."

He looked her once over. "You said Katherine would always talk about me. What did you mean by that? Were you and her friends?"

Caroline actually had to think about that before answering. "Sought of. Yeah, actually, you could say we were friends. I don't know how much you know, but Elena shoved the cure down her throat, so Katherine was human. She had nowhere to go, so she stayed with me in my dorm room for a while, while Elena and Bonnie were out of town. Turns out, if you share the same bedroom with someone while having a bottle of tequila and a packet of marshmallows, you're bound to become friends at one point. And she would tell me these great things about you. She was definitely mad at you, but it was clear that she still loved you. One day, Elena and Bonnie were coming back, so she had to leave. I haven't heard from her for about two weeks, but before that it had felt like we had become friends. I guess I'm just trying to tell you that you didn't leave her broken and crippled," Caroline finished. "I have to go out with Klaus. But you should definitely go after her."

 **Wednesday 21/09**

 **10:23am**

 **New Orleans**

Before that day, she had completely underestimated the glorious beauty of New Orleans. Klaus had mentioned color, and people, and food. He told her that the city was beautiful in the voice mail she listened to every night before bed. She had tried to get a picture of New Orleans in her head, tried to imagine a city beautiful enough to lead Klaus astray. But she never accurately pinpointed how amazing the city really was.

Klaus and she walked through the streets, completely parallel to eatchother and Caroline couldn't help but admire the view. The streets were crowded with people who were also enjoying the sights, for each shop could have been a monument. Every building seemed to radiate an orange glow, every house, shop and hotel had a black-railed balcony with flowers and vines growing on them.

Shops had neon signs advertising bourbon and live jazz music and night clubs. Even the strip clubs looked classy. The U.S.A flag flapped in the wind from several windows and balcony's, waving in the light wind of the hot day. Street signs labeled the streets in French and English and street performers sat at every corner, and ranged from old men blowing jazz music through a saxophone to a guy dressed as a pink giraffe dancing. As soon as one piece of music from one street performer died down, another was taken up.

"You're right," Caroline admitted, as she walked through a street that glowed less orange, but instead held buildings, each of which portrayed a different pastel color. "This place is amazing."

"You can understand why it's my favorite city in the world," Klaus said, throwing a hundred-dollar-bill into the guitar case of a man playing one of her favorite classical pieces. "Do you speak any French?"

"No, but I plan to," she said. "We had to do German in school, but I never liked it. I plan to learn Italian and Bulgarian as well."

Klaus smiled. "Why?"

"Just to have a range of languages," she said, shrugging. "I always liked French and Italian. I want to learn Bulgarian so I can understand Katherine when she gets mad and rants at me. Well I did, anyway. She was my friend for a short while at least."

Klaus laughed. "Well, alright then. There are few things I really love in life. My family, of course. I love you, immensely. But aside from people, I love magnificent architecture that will go down in history. I love good music and culture that will be remembered. I enjoy good food and people worth my time, and New Orleans defines all of these things for me. Now that you're here... I couldn't ask for a more perfect paradise."

Caroline couldn't help but smile. "So show me."

"What do you want to see first?" he asked. "The clubs? Do you want to meet some friends of mine?"

She thought for a second. "I want to see the food, I'm starving." Klaus laughed again. "No, really. I'm guessing your taste in good food is a restaurant with five stars, and a dress-code that I'm way under."

"You look perfect," he smiled. "For lunch, I'm going to need you to trust me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Trust is a big step, Klaus," she said. "I hope you only need it for something little." He smiled at her, and gestured over to a little burger stand. After a pause, she laughed. "Okay, seriously? That's a little... un-Klaus-like?"

"I'm not that fancy all of the time," he said. "Just trust me on this, okay?" He ordered for her and handed her a low-class burger that was dripping ketchup and grease. She took it and eyed it suspiciously, raising an eyebrow up at him. "Try it," he said.

She did, biting through the bread and meat, and wave of flavor exploding in her mouth as she ate the best burger she had ever eaten. "Oh my God," she muttered with her mouth full.

Klaus laughed. "See? You should trust me more often."

"Hm." She raised a finger to wipe ketchup away from the side of her mouth. "That's actually really good," she said, taking another bite, just as Klaus started on his burger.

"I agree," he said. "I found this little place on my first day back here, and I didn't feel like dining alone in one of these fancy cafe's," he gestured to the buildings on either side of them, "so I bought one of these and at first, I was incredibly skeptical."

"I want to marry this burger," she said. Klaus laughed.

"I'm glad you enjoy it," he said, tipping the guy behind the stand.

"So what's your favorite color?" Caroline asked, when she finished her burger/husband and wiped her mouth with the napkin.

"That's a very random question," Klaus replied, throwing his napkin in a street bin and taking hers and disposing of it for her.

"Not really," she said. "It seems odd that we've been through this much together and are on our second date and we don't even know the little things about eatchother."

"You classify this as a date?" Klaus wondered, as they stepped onto another orange-glowing street.

She gulped. She didn't mean to say that. "Why? Isn't it?"

He nodded. "No, it is, I was just hoping you would say it first. I didn't think you would agree to a date with me."

"Well, you beg me to come down to New Orleans, and I finally agree. I think I'm obliged to let you have one more date. Seriously, favorite color?"

He thought for a second. "Light blue. Like the sky on a summer day."

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Why?"

"It's the color of your eyes," he justified. "I'm being perfectly honest," he laughed when she rolled her eyes. "I'm not saying this to impress you! What's your favorite color?"

She shrugged. "Um... Purple. It's pretty."

He nodded, smiling. "Okay, well, and this is a very important question, what's your favorite member of the band _Beatles_?"

"Paul," she said, almost instantly. "What about you?"

He seemed to consider it. "John," he decided.

"Other little things..." Caroline thought. "I always, always sleep with the windows closed. No exceptions."

"Such finality with such a small issue," he noticed. "Explain."

"Anything can just fly in," she said, disgusted. "Moths, wasps. Spiders can just wander in and eat me."

Klaus burst out laughing. "Caroline, love, spiders don't eat vampires," he said. "They're pretty low down on the food-chain, whilst you're at the top."

She shrugged. "Spiders are evil, and nothing you can say will convince me other wise. Do you have any quirks?"

"If my shoelaces aren't double-knotted then my day has been ruined," he said, after a moment of thought. "The shoe is just too... loose otherwise."

She nodded. "I can relate. If my clothes aren't color coordinated, and my books or CD's or DVD's aren't alphabetically organized on the shelves then I can't sleep. You don't even want to know how I organize my shoes."

"How?" he wondered.

She sighed, preparing so come across as crazy. "Alphabetically."

"How do you organize shoes alphabetically?" he asked, giving her the oddest look.

"By designer," she said, sheepishly. "There's no other way."

"I'm sure there are," he said, with one eyebrow raised.

She shook her head. "Nope, no other way. If you don't have your shoes organized alphabetically by the names of the designers then you're living your undead life wrong."

He nodded. "Note taken. How do you take your coffee?"

"White, two sugars," she said. "You?"

"Black, one sugar," he replied.

"Know any good jokes?" Caroline asked about half an hour later. They had walked through orange street after orange street talking about the most useless facts about eatchother they could think of.

"What's the difference," Klaus replied, "between tuna, a piano and a pot of glue?"

Caroline could think of many differences between tuna, a piano and a pot of glue, but naming a list of differences between a fish, an instrument and a sticky goop was obviously not to aim of the game. "I don't know," she said. "What's the difference between tuna, a piano and a pot of glue?"

"You can tuna piano but you can't piano tuna," he said.

Caroline actually laughed a little at the cheesy joke. "Wait, what about the pot of glue?"

"I thought you'd get stuck there," he smiled.

"Oh, that pun," she said, laughing. Caroline laughed. "Okay, what's the difference between a bad marksman and a constipated owl?"

"Oh, any joke with the word 'constipated' in must be good," he said. "Okay what's the difference?"

"One shoots but can't hit," she said. "The other hoots but can't shit." Klaus laughed. "Sorry," Caroline apologized. "Such inappropriate jokes for a man of your age."

Klaus looked offended "How old do you think I am?"

"Old enough to grow up riding dinosaurs," she said.

Klaus laughed. "I think you made a little historical error there," he pointed out.

"I know, humans weren't around when dinosaurs were," she said. "I was only kidding."

"I know this is random," he said, "but this entire day has been delightfully filled with random topics, and I must ask. Do you believe the moon landing was faked?"

"No," she said. "It was obviously real, I've seen the footage."

He looked at her, astonished. "It was completely fake," he said.

"How is it?" she asked.

"The shadows are off," he said. "It's in the shadows, they're all wrong."

She shook her head. "Photo-shop, Klaus, it's all photo-shop."

"Agree to disagree," he laughed.

 **Wednesday 21/09**

 **15:15pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

She wasn't quite sure where everyone went. Caroline just knew that the Mikaelson siblings all had some business to attend to around New Orleans, so while Klaus was off 'winning his city back', Caroline was back at the Mansion, filling out a quick application for New Orleans city college.

She had decided to stay so she had called her old college and they promised to put in a good word for her. She also called everyone she knew at Mystic Falls and told them not to worry about her. She sat, curled up on a couch in the lounge, eating some chocolate she had found in the fridge. She had asked Kol and he told her that it was his, and he gave her his permission to eat as much as she liked and that he would buy more on the way home, so she could finish it if she wanted.

"Where's everyone?" Finn asked, walking into the room. Caroline jumped at his sudden appearance.

"I don't know," she said, trying to smile at him. "I think Klaus is killing whatever vampires in the city disagree with him about the rightful ruler or whatever. Want some chocolate?"

Finn shook his head, sitting on another couch opposite her. "I don't think we've officially met," he said, holding his hand out. Caroline shook it. "I'm Finn," he said.

"Caroline," she smiled. "I'm so freaking hungry right now," she added, eating more chocolate. "Like, it's crazy unreal."

He smiled, kindly at her, leaning back and crossing his legs. "I think that chocolate belongs to Kol," he said. "He may be mad."

"He gave me his blessing," she laughed. "By the way, congratulations on being alive."

He laughed. "Thank you. This time I'm not going to screw it up."

"What do you mean?" she asked, filling in her application and sealing it in an envelope. She had said that she wouldn't want to stay on campus at NOLA university had that option.

"I mean this time I'm not going to try and kill my family," he said. "Now I know better. Blood is thicker than water. But it is a lot harder to clean up."

"Philosophical," she commented. "Well, that's really good for you. That's like, one problem fixed in the highly dysfunctional family. Good job."

 **Wednesday 21/09**

 **10:24pm**

 **Roseau**

"Okay, I was pretty sure until tonight that there was an unspoken rule about karaoke nights," Caroline said. She had gone out for drinks with Klaus and Kol at the local bar, Roseau, where it happened to be karaoke night. One woman was up on the stage, singing her little heart out, ever though she was completely tone deaf. Caroline had to admire how she didn't seem to care about the boo's she was getting from the crowd. "You have to have _some_ talent."

"I'm sure you could do much better, Love," Klaus smiled, sipping his beer. The three of them sat on the bar stools, each sipping their own drink.

Caroline nodded. "I hate being vain, but I could," she said.

"Then go a place dibs on the next song," Kol said, gesturing toward the stage, challengingly. "I dare you."

Caroline shook her head. "No, I wouldn't want to outshine her," she said, looking at the woman already singing. Kol made chicken noises.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'll make a deal with you," she offered. "I'll go up there, but you have to be my partner. We would rock a duet together."

Kol looked at Klaus before laughing. "No way, darling. Shouldn't you be performing romantic duo's with Nik?"

"I wouldn't get us anything romantic," she said, giving him a disgusted look. "Besides, you have much more self-confidence that Klaus."

"That's not true," Kol said. "Klaus has got a bigger head than anyone."

Klaus rolled his eyes. "I'm right here, you know?" he finished his beer. "Yes, I may be arrogant, and I have too much dignity to embarrass myself on that stage. But, Kol, by all means, go for a duet."

Kol sighed. "Fine."

Caroline went to talk to the karaoke 'commissioner' about what song she wanted to sing with Kol. "Don't get jealous, Nik," Kol cautioned. "It may give you frown lines."

"I'm not jealous," he said. "Caroline, whilst I'm in love with her, is not in a relationship with me. Besides, I know you would never see her as more than a friend. Right?"

"Right," Kol said. "I would hate to have a dagger run through my heart." Caroline came skipping back before Klaus could retort. "What did you get us?" Kol asked, smiling kindly at her. "We on next?"

"We're on now," Caroline said, as the woman got off of the stage. She took his hand and lead him up to it as the guy introduced their names and song. The crowd actually cheered before they could sing anything.

"Have you ever done this before?" Caroline asked as Kol looked, laughing, over the crowd.

He shook his head. "No, never. This is completely ridiculous."

"Maybe, but that's what Karaoke is all about. Embarrassing oneself in public. I sang in front of a whole cafe once. I wasn't supposed to but I compelled the band to let me pursue my my rock star dream."

They turned on their microphones and turned to the little screen in front of them as the band started. Caroline started as her lines were colored in pink across the screen. She hadn't sung for a while, but she could admit that she was good and she missed it. Kol sang as his own lines were colored in blue. He, himself, was pretty good and sang with his British accent charming all of the ladies in the room.

They sang together, the lines being colored in purple on the little screen. Caroline begun to move, indicating that she wanted to dance with Kol, who just laughed at her. Eventually Kol begun to get into it, dancing with Caroline which made all of the girls in the building melt. Caroline laughed at them. They must have all thought Kol was her boyfriend. At first he had been uncomfortable, but he begun to laugh and smile about it as he danced with her.

After their song finished Kol and Caroline held hands and bowed before practically falling of the stage in a hot laughing mess of fits and giggles. They made their way back over to Klaus laughing. "That was more fun than I thought it would be," Kol admitted.

Caroline bowed again. "We should start a band," she suggested, laughing.

Kol shrugged, looking at her very seriously. "We start tour next year," he said. "It's official. We're rock stars."

Klaus rolled his eyes on the verge of laughing. "You have a beautiful voice, Love," he said.

"Thanks," Kol said.

Caroline laughed. "Kol, I think I'm 'Love'," she said.

Kol nodded as if just realizing something. "That would explain a lot."

* * *

 **Boom Klaroline and Koroline hit you like bricks! How did I do with the Klaroline fluff? I think I made it a little rushed. Sorry if you feel the same. But Care is not going to jump into his arms, there's going to be a lot of drama before she even thinks about romantic Klaroline. Sorry, but I think it would be boring if it wasn't dramatic!  
**

 **Please, please review! I always get so happy when I see a new review! Especially with suggestions. Tell me what you guys want to see! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. -Izzy**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! I know this chapter is short and a little rushed, but I'll probably update sooner, around Wednesday or something. I'm just really excited for you guys to read Chapter 9, which, I believe, is a little more interesting.  
**

 **So I uploaded this onto Doc-Manager on Saturday, but I havenet' decided whether or not to publish it on Saturday or Sunday. If I publish is on Saturday then I'll probably just update every Saturday instead. If I publish on Sunday then YAY, I have self-control! I think I rushed the Carolijah and Team Barbie in the chapter. If so, I'm sorry. Rebekoline will not be jumping straight into each others arms, but lets just say, something happens next chapter that pulls them closer together. ;)**

 **Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Katherine first comes into this story in Chapter 10, ready to kick some ass. Enjoy! -Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter EIGHT**

 **Thursday 22/09**

 **10:21am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

"Did Kol say you could eat his food?" said a voice from behind Caroline. Caroline turned from the fridge to see Rebekah behind her with her arms crossed. Kol had replaced her scavenged with more chocolate supply which he had put in the fridge, but she was hungry, so she was helping herself to only a little chocolate.

"He allowed me before, I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Caroline said, suddenly feeling awkward under the look Rebekah was giving her.

"You really should ask," she said, giving Caroline a disgusted look.

Caroline nodded, putting the chocolate back. "Yeah, okay, I'm sorry," she said, closing the fridge. Rebekah turned to leave but Caroline stopped her. "Listen, Rebekah-"

"Unless that sentence ends with _I'm leaving today_ , then don't bother continuing," she spat. "You may get my brothers to like you, but I'm not going to be that easy, and you're not going to manipulate me into worshiping at your feet."

"I don't want to manipulate you to do anything-"

"You manipulated Elijah," Rebekah said. "I'm not an idiot, Caroline, but apparently he is. Abusing his love for Katerina Petrova to give him false hope and get him to like you. How pathetic."

"I didn't mean to give him any false hope," Caroline said. "I just told him what I knew and advised him to go after her-"

"That's not any of your business," Rebekah laughed. "How dare you advise my brother to leave his home to chase after that bitch?"

Caroline paused, scoffing. "Exactly. You only ever put her down! Maybe he needed some support to chase after true love instead of you and Klaus always hating on her!"

Rebekah stepped closer to Caroline, putting her hands on her hips. "You think I don't support my own brother? Now you're suggesting that you'd do a better job at being his sister than me? Listen to me, little girl, I already tried to convince him to go after Katherine, and he already said no. If you think for a second that I don't want him to have all the happiness he deserves, then you're so incredibly deluded you must have wandered into New Orleans thinking is said Louisiana Mental Institution."

Caroline scoffed, stepping up to Rebekah and crossing her arms. "If you, also, tried to tell him to go after her, then why are you yelling at me for doing the same thing?" she almost yelled. She wondered if anyone else was home, and if so, who was eavesdropping on this conversation.

"It's not your place," Rebekah yelled. "You're not his sister, and you're not part of this family! I get that Klaus is in love with you and that you're his redemption, but nobody wants _him_ here either. Go home, Forbes!"

Caroline sighed as she stormed out of the kitchen. She went up to her room, where she continued what she had been doing before her quest for food had begun.

Her bed was covered in books and notebooks. She really had to start studying. She had gotten into NOLA university, but she had to do an essay before her first class, just so that she was up to speed with the rest of the class.

But first got Twitter up on her laptop and tweeted about how it was so hard and annoying having that much work to do.

 _SO MUCH WORK TO DO #KMN_

Then she organized her pens on her desk. There was not much point in working unless they were all straight and perfectly parallel.

She bought up Facebook on her computer and updated her Status: _DO NOT DISTURB! TOO MUCH WORK! :(_

She noticed one of her pens were slightly crooked so she knelt down to see it better and straightened it out. She sat on her wheelie chair and bought up her essay, which so far was a blank Word Document. She bought up YouTube and looked up _How not to procrastinate._ She clicked on this weird video of some guy called Evan Pakan, teaching people how not to procrastinate, but his voice was annoying so she clicked on another video about a little cartoon who didn't procrastinate.

"Let's be honest," said the voice on the video. "Is there something else you're supposed to be doing right now? Do you have a paper due in ten hours? Is there a stinky pile of laundry just waiting to be done?" Caroline looked around herself guiltily. How did it know? She probably shouldn't be watching the video, but the voice was psychic, so she shouldn't stop.

She typed some number into her calculator, when the video finished and turned it upside down so it said 'boobies'. She laughed and took a selfie of her with the calculator and she sent it to Kol.

Then she ended up taking a lot of selfies.

After writing a few words down on paper, her pen ran out of ink. She looked over to her line of pens but they were all highlighters, so they were no use.

She put on her sunglasses, took a few more selfies and got into her rented car outside and begun driving to the nearest store in New Orleans she knew, dancing behind the wheel.

In the stationary section of the store there were so many packets with so many different pens. They all had several guarantee's about the best writing satisfaction. She couldn't pick one up without all of the others being drawn to her, so in the end she bought one of each packet. She had forgotten to bring money so she compelled them for free. She danced in the car on the way back.

Back behind her desk she emptied the bag of all of her new pens, along with elastic bands, a new calculator, a stapler, sellotape, more highlighters, a French dictionary, scissors, a ruler, a geometry set and everything else she could possibly need to finish that essay.

She got back behind the desk, ready to work. She fell asleep and just jerked awake before her head his the table. She could not afford to do that again. The essay had to be finished. She pulled her eyes open and stretched her face so she wouldn't fall asleep, but she just ended up yawning.

After getting out of a yawning frenzy, she typed into Google Images _Quotes about hard work_. She found one that said Anything Worth Having Doesn't Come Easy. She took it to Photoshop and started cropping and editing it to inspire her to do some hard work.

She typed numbers into her new calculator that said _Hello_ and she ran downstairs excited to show Klaus, who was impressed.

Back upstairs she tried to listen to music while she worked, but she ended up just singing along instead of actually being inspired. She danced around her room, not loudly and gave up on singing as she had to rest her voice for next year's tour with Kol.

"What is going on in here?" she heard a voice at her door ask. She turned to see Elijah who was definitely judging her. He looked from the desk of useless supplies to her loud radio to her who had just stopped dancing.

"Procrastination," Caroline admitted. "Can you help me study?"

Elijah turned out to be a very good tutor. The assignment seemed easy after he explained it to her but he refused to let her study in peace. He sat with her so she wouldn't procrastinate. He had her paced her room with highlighters in her mouth and books in hand, using her vampire speed to type, which only damaged her computer so she stopped.

When she finally finished she asked, "Did I manipulate you into being my friend?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "Don't take this the wrong way, Caroline, but when did we become friends?"

Caroline thought back to meeting Elijah two nights before. "Oh," she said. "I guess we haven't yet. Do you want to be my friend?"

Elijah paused. "Okay? Why did you think you had manipulated me?"

She shrugged, not wanting to rat Rebekah out. "I don't know, just what I said about Katherine. If so, I didn't mean to."

"I assure you, I am not so easily manipulated, it's fine," Elijah said. "But I do have to go. Well done on your essay, but I have to clear some dead vampire bodies out of the forest before the police find them and ask annoying questions."

"Bye, Elijah."

 **Friday 23/09**

 **10:00am**

 **New Orleans City College**

Caroline ran into her first class, about one second late which was good as she had been running late all morning. She had a pink folder in one had and a vanilla latte and in the other, her brown leather bag over one shoulder and sunglasses pushed up on her head, keeping her blonde hair out of her face.

She found a seat at the back of the lecture hall just as the professor started talking. She looked around the room. It was no secret that New Orleans was the home of many hipsters, but come on, this was ridiculous. There was so many pairs of hipster glasses and wallet chains that it was unreal. One guy was wearing an 18th century suit while taking notes on his iPad and most of the were talking about how they had ridden there on their bikes or horses and how they took classes at college before it was cool.

Was it ever cool to go to college? It's always been a good life choice in Caroline's opinion, but these people were just being idiots.

About halfway through the lecture her phone received a text. She bought it out under the desk, absentmindedly taking notes while reading.

 **The humans are insisting we be socialites. We are invited to a pink party tonight for Breast Cancer research. Be my date? -Klaus**

It only made sense, in her eyes, that the leading humans of New Orleans should want the Mikaelsons appearing at social, so they seem un-threatening, but somehow she couldn't see Klaus in a pink suit. **Sure -Caroline** She texted back. She didn't know what she felt for Klaus. She certainly didn't want him accompanying anyone else while she was figuring it out.

She did go to New Orleans because he sub-conscience wanted her to be with him, but her rational side new that he was evil and he hurt everyone he loved. Her brain kept warning her to stay away, but her heart was like a magnet to his, pulling her ever closer toward him. And she couldn't keep denying it for long. Klaus was beginning to know that she didn't entirely feel hatred toward him. She had run away to be with him, and he knew that it meant something.

She had to decide if her romantic feelings for him was real or not. If they were real then they could figure it out, and it would be a bumpy ride, but they could work through it. But if they weren't, if he was simply a project, something to be fixed, then she knew that she had to let him go, and not string him along anymore. She wouldn't go any further with him until she knew, but every inch of her body was dying to.

She thought about his hand running up her body, how he would lift her up. She would wrap her legs around his torso as he would sit her on a table and rip her shirt off. She would lift his own above his head and run her hands and nails down his back, scratching his skin...

She looked down at her notes. The last five minutes all that she had written was _Klaus, feel, touch, scratch, shirt, rip, naked, sex, run, kiss, tongue_

She rolled her eyes. Usually she was better than to daydream about sex but apparently not. She scribbled out her most recent notes and sighed.

 **Friday 23/09**

 **20:30pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

The party technically started at seven, but they all agreed not to arrive until nine. Rebekah wanted to be fashionably late, maybe by half an hour, but Klaus argued that everyone would be arriving then. He also said that arriving rudely late will show the humans that they only abide by their own rules. Caroline thought it was ridiculous.

She walked by Rebekah's room and saw the Original standing in front of a full length mirror, checking her dress. It was a strapless dark pink cocktail dress that hung tightly to her curvy, slender figure. He blonde hair was curled and fell down her back.

"You look beautiful," Caroline said from the door, lightly knocking on it. Rebekah turned, mildly alarmed. She noticed it was Caroline and her face went from shocked, to annoyed, to soft.

"Thank you," she said, stepping away from the mirror and picking up a pair of bright pink Prada heels and slipped them onto her feet. "Look, Caroline. Don't tease me for what I'm about to say – this is very hard for me. But I've been meaning to apologize about yesterday."

"Don't worry about it," Caroline said. "I was being a bitch, I can understand why you may not like me. But, listen... I've been trying to do this thing lately where I don't hate someone simply because Elena hates them. I realized only recently that I don't have a good reason for disliking you. I mean, yeah, you killed Elena and intended to kill Matt, but if Matt can forgive you for that then so can I, and I wasn't even in the car. I'm sorry for pointlessly disliking you."

Rebekah paused. "Thank you. But I hated you, too."

"I hope you can overlook that one day," Caroline said. "Because maybe if you can stop hating me and I can stop acting like I hate you then maybe, one day, we can be friends."

"That's why I was upset yesterday," Rebekah explained, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I've never really been friends with girls before. But I've always wanted a sister. So I greeted Hayley with open arms and she betrayed us, so I'm a little untrusting. But that's not the only reason I don't trust you. Sorry."

"Why?"

"Because Nik loves you. I've been in love too many times through my life, and love always seems to lead to getting hurt. So I've become cautious about who I begin to fall for. But I see Klaus give his heart to you without a second thought and I wonder why he doesn't know better. Hearts can be torn into a thousand pieces. It's best you look after your own yourself. But I realize that he doesn't know better because he's never been in love before. But he loves you. You must be really special."

Caroline swallowed, sitting next to Rebekah on her bed. She thought about coming to New Orleans to see Klaus, despite the fact that he killed Tyler's mom, Katherine's entire family, Elena's aunt and a million more innocent people. But she was still there. "How do you know when you're in love with someone?" Caroline asked, looking at Rebekah, her hands nervously twisting together.

"Love is that special moment when you realize that their all you see," Rebekah said. "I believe it's when you can't look past them any more. You then realize that nothing they can do will ever faze you. You will stand by them through everything."

Caroline didn't think she was quite there with Klaus yet. "Thanks, Rebekah," she smiled, getting up to leave.

"Your dress is really pretty, by the way," Rebekah said, trying for a smile. Caroline looked down at herself. She wore a light pink, flimsy dress with tank top sleeves. It was very loose, but gathered at her waist with a light silver belt. She had strappy stilleto silver heels on her feet and her straight blonde hair fell down her back.

"Thank you," Caroline said, smiling.

 **Friday 23/09**

 **21:00pm**

 **The Pink Party**

The party was held in the mayor's house in a large parlor room. There was a long buffet table along one wall and a mini bar in one corner. There were tables across all walls and what really surprised Caroline was that on the tables were real, human people, completely naked but with all provate areas covered with silk in ballet positions, standing completely still around the buffet.

"I though this was a party for humans," Caroline muttered, gesturing to the people.

Klaus laughed at her. "You're so empathetic," he smiled. "It is. These people are hired, Love, not compelled. It's called art."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "I knew that."

"Would you care to dance?" Klaus asked. "It's our thing, after all. Well that and champagne."

She smiled a him. He had a hand held out for her so she took it and let him lead her onto the dance floor. The music was very classical and it didn't take them long to fall into rhythm with everyone else on the dance floor. "So how was your first day at college?" he asked. He obviously couldn't insult his masculinity by wearing too much pink, so he only wore a light pink shirt under a black suit.

"Good," she said. "All the students were hipsters and I don't know how to take notes. How was your day?"

Klaus smiled at her. "Fine," he said. "Caroline... I know you said you came to New Orleans as a result of that mental breakdown, but was there anyway you came here for something else?"

There was a very long pause. He had to get right down to the point, didn't he? No small talk, just straight to the deep question that they were all asking. "I don't know," she said, honestly. "I don't want to lead you on if there's nothing here. I would never do that. But I'm not going to lie either and say that I feel nothing for you. I don't know if what I feel is strong enough to overlook your bad side. Are you... okay with that?"

He nodded, beginning to laugh. "I never thought I'd see the day you admit we have chemistry. I'm willing to wait for you to decide, and if you feel the same way about me, they we'll make it work. But if you can't do it then I'll understand."

She smiled. "I can't believe you're being so cool about it. I thought you'd be a little more persistent."

"If persistence is what you like, I can do some begging," he offered, laughing. "You know, your hair looks beautiful this evening."

She shyly tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear and smiled.

Rebekah managed to pull herself away from whatever socialite was trying to attack her with words and strutted over to a side door with a stick-man female on it. She opened the door the ladies restroom and walked in on a very upset looking Caroline, leaning over a sink, looking stressed as she added more lip gloss to her already shiny, light pink lips.

Rebekah went to go and stand next to her, having to try several times before coming up with a facial expression that made her look comforting. She hoped at least. She was never very good at the whole 'comfort' thing.

"Your feelings for Klaus upsetting you?" Rebekah guessed, turning to the mirror and meeting Caroline's gaze in the reflection. Caroline nodded, looking ever more solemn. "So get a rebound," Rebekah instructed, her kind tone going to a bossy one. She took out a dark pink lipstick from her velvet clutch bag and freshened her lips up. "The best way to get over someone is to get under someone," she added, forcing her voice to go kind again.

Caroline paused before laughing, putting the lip gloss away. "You should right a book," she said, beginning to laugh a little.

"People like me don't write books," she said, smacking her lips together and putting the make up away, running her hands through her blonde curls. "We're written about."

Almost simultaneously, both of the blondes turned on their sides to inspect themselves in the mirror from a side point of view. Caroline sniggered and Rebekah smiled at their similarities. They turned away from the mirror and looked back to inspect their dresses from the back and finally around to the other side.

"Do I look all right?" Caroline asked, facing Rebekah, having found nothing wrong with herself in the mirror.

"You look really pretty," Rebekah answered. "What about me?"

"Beautiful as ever," Caroline answered smiling. "I'm really looking forward to us trying to be friends."

"Me, too," Rebekah said, smiling.

"May I have this dance?" asked a very British accent at her ear. Caroline was so hoping it would be Klaus, but it wasn't. She liked Kol, and she was willing to dance with him, but she was beginning to recognize her crush on Klaus, and even embrace it by wanting to dance with him again.

"Yeah, sure," Caroline said, taking Kol's hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor. "So, I was thinking about it," she said, as Kol spun her slowly before putting his hand gently on her waist and dancing with her, "we probably need a back up band for out tour next year."

Kol laughed. "I agree," he said. "But I think we should only tour around the U.S.A. If we were on a world tour, I believe you would be forced to be away from Klaus for a little too long."

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I always put my career before possible love interests."

Kol paused, still smiling. "For so long, Caroline," he said, his joking voice becoming serious, "I was so... sure that Klaus was incapable of love. But when he looks at you... that's the emotion that's plastered all over his face. That and his sudden need to be human. You may be his cure. His reason to rid himself of those blasted daggers. You're not only good for him, but for this entire family."

"Thank you?" Caroline said, cautiously, not entirely sure where he was going with this, but having a good feel of the general direction.

"I don't know what you feel for my brother," Kol said. "I don't even know how I feel about him, if I'm honest. In fact, I generally hate him but I love him at the same time. So please don't rule out the possibility of staying for him. I'd never tell him I think this, but he needs help. He needs you."

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Every review makes my day! I actually wanted to have your opinions on something specific for the sequel to this story which I will be started very soon. What are you opinions on Stebekah and Mabekah? Which one is you favourite? Do you like both? Please, please give me your opinions, I need to know what you guys want to read! Thanks a bunch! -Izzy**


	9. Chapter 9

**Not sure if I mentioned last chapter if I was going to update early this week or not, but either way, here it is!  
**

 **I just wanted to briefly explain why I asked about a sequel. I have almost finished this story, with only two or three chapters left to write and it's all on Word Document on my computer. I'm not ready to stop writing this because I love it so I started thinking about sequels as I didn't get the chance to give Kol, Finn or Rebekah and lasting romantic storylines. But I didn't know what to do with Rebekah, whether or not to go Stebekah or Mabekah as I ship them both so much, so I thought, who better to ask than the readers? I get that you guys HAVEN'T nearly finished this story so I probably shouldn't have asked.**

 **Yes, I don't want my updating to overtake my writing, especially since I'm taking ages with the last few chapters. Writers block, you know? And I'd rather update regularly than update a bunch of chapters all at once and then have you wait for ages for the ending.**

 **Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you have a lot of fun reading it.**

 **PLEASE NOTE: The Brotherhood of the Five is sought of part of this chapter, I sought of forgot that it seems to be an entirely male society. There's a female hunters in this. Oops. Also, they are still around after the whole 'Silas' fiasco. I wasn't paying that much attention while watching Season 4 of TVD. Oh well. Sorry for the long A/N**

* * *

 **Chapter NINE**

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **01:10am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

The attack was so sudden nobody could have prepared for it. Vampires, probably the left over ones from what used to be Marcel's kingdom.

Men were naturally more protective of women, so that's who they went for. They opened Caroline's window, and her eyes cracked open. Before she could say anything or fight, she had vervain injected into her system, causing every nerve in her body to be electrified with agony. She didn't have enough energy to scream for help, let alone kill the three vampires surrounding her.

One of the vampire begun binding her wrists with vervain-laced ropes, along with her bare ankles. She was lifted out of bed, and fell unconscious as the vampire who held her jumped out of the window.

Rebekah was a harder matter. She woke up as soon as the vampires touched her window, and when they burst in, Rebekah had already grabbed two of their heads and bashed them together, killing two very effectively.

She knew one would be behind her so she lifted her foot and kicked him where it hurt most. She then swung the same leg back and up, kneeing the next one in the same place, immobilizing two vampires. She reached into a fifth's chest and wrapped her hand around her heart. As she was about to pull it out, more and more vampires were throwing vervain-laced roped around her, pinning her arms to her side.

She struggled and was about to call out, to warn her brothers and Caroline, but one of the many vampire pierced her skin and injected vervain into her system, setting her bones on fire. She was lifted and carried out of the window as she fell unconscious.

"Are you getting Deja-vu?" Rebekah asked, as Caroline came around. "Or is that just me?" They were both tied up to the left wall of the inside of a van, which sped down a hill they couldn't see due to the lack of windows.

"No, I'm getting it, too," Caroline sighed. "Let's just hope this bitch doesn't crash. What happened?"

Rebekah paused, leaning her head back to think. I think it's Marcel. His leftover vampires. We didn't kill them all, and now I think they want revenge. Don't worry. I've got four original vampire saviors up my sleeve. We'll be fine."

Caroline scoffed, shaking her head. "No. No, we can't just wait for the boys to save us. Come on, Rebekah, show some girl power. We're Team Barbie for God's sake. We can get out of this."

"Barbie, what?" Rebekah asked, confused, raising her eyebrow.

Caroline paused. "Damon Salvatore called you Barbie-Klaus and me Vampire-Barbie. It's just a team name, it doesn't matter. How do we get out of this?"

Rebekah sighed. "As much as I hate it, we're going to _have_ to wait to be rescued. I can't get passed these vervain chains-" Caroline noticed their hands and feet bound by thick, iron chains that burned "-so that means you definitely can't. We're just going to have to wait." The van came to a sudden stop. The back door was opened and something was thrown inside, before the door was slammed shut again.

"What's that?" Caroline asked, leaning forward.

"Vervain Grenade," Rebekah said, her voice mildly panicked. It exploded before either of them could say anything else.

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **2:04am**

 **Unknown**

When Rebekah woke up again, she was alone and unchained in an abandoned room she didn't recognize. The carpet she was spread across was thick, rich and gold, but dusty and therefore imprinting on her oversized t-shirt and leggings. Her blonde hair had fallen out of the bun she had slept in and fell as a mess over her shoulders. She sat up and looked around for immediate danger. There was nobody else in the room. Just a few rats, an empty, chipped dining table with a few knocked over chairs. Rebekah wondered where she was.

Standing up, she was a little unstable on her feet, but she regained her balance quickly. She blinked the double vision away and shook her aching head. She took a deep breath before she was ready for action.

The first thing she had to do was simple: find Caroline. Her kidnappers were the same as hers, so Caroline must have been close, or at least, people were close who knew where she was.

Damn it, she was an Original, she shouldn't be scared. She took another deep breath before turning to the large wooden door on one end of the room. She crept over to it and opened it extremely slowly, peering through the crack between it and the wall. There was another door opposite, wide open, and in there, she saw a man, a vampire, sharpening one of Klaus' daggers, before taking out a little pot of white ash powder.

So they were prepared.

Even if the dagger wouldn't kill them permanantly, Klaus had made sure Marcel's vampires already knew that, but they still were wanting to drive one through her heart. No way. If she was daggered then Caroline may not be saved, Klaus may not find out in time.

No, getting daggered wasn't an option, but these people must have been prepared. So, she just had to get past them without being seen. Right? She looked through the crack at the rest of the corridor, but it seemed empty so she opened the door wide enough for her to slip out.

The dagger-holding vampire was, thankfully, facing away from her, so he didn't see her creep down the hallway. The wooden planks underneath her bare feet were broken and sketchy, and she had to try and ignore the annoying little splinters under her heels.

Unfortunately, she stepped on one that was a little creaky. She heard footsteps in the other room. She slowly ran, with fairy steps to the nearest door before opening it and hiding inside. She closed it behind her, like it was and waited. There was no noise on the other side, but she couldn't risk going outside.

She turned to survey this new room and gasped. It was completely bare, with sketchy wooden floor and peeling white paint on the walls and ceilings, but there was an ordinary chair in the middle with poor Caroline tied to it with more vervain-laced ropes around her ankles and wrists, keeping her hands to the chair arms. She had a bandana in her mouth as a gag.

"Caroline," Rebekah whispered, running to her friends side. She crouched down and undid the ropes around her feet. Caroline tried to mumble something but Rebekah stopped her with a finger to her own lips and a point outside. Caroline nodded. The Original undid the ropes around Caroline's wrists, ignoring the burn of the vervain. Then she stood Caroline up, letting the girl lean on her. She was wearing black, floral print pajama bottoms and a tight grey tank top.

"Come on," Rebekah whispered, leading Caroline out of the door and back into the corridor.

"Where are we?" Caroline whispered, as the crept in the direction Rebekah had been heading before she had to hide.

"Ssh," Rebekah snapped again, before shrugging.

Caroline looked over their shoulder and gasped. "Rebekah!" The older blonde turned to see the same man who held the dagger behind them, armed with the White-Oak-stake.

Rebekah gasped, wondering how the hell he had gotten it. It was the only weapon that could truly kill her and he had gotten it out of a safe in an Original-ridden house, she was now allowed to be frightened.

"Tie your friend back up," he ordered Rebekah, nodding to Caroline.

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "Make me," she challenged. She felt something sharp against her back.

"I have, in my hands," said another voice behind her, "a nifty little dagger covered in some of that special ash. If I dagger you, your friend doesn't stand a chance and we kill you for real in your sleep. If you turn around and try to snatch the dagger off of me then Jerry, with the stake, will just kill you. If you're friend tries to help..." another man walked up behind Caroline with a normal stake aimed at her back, "...then she dies."

"If you use the dagger on me then you'll die," Rebekah said. "No vampire can wield it-"

"We're not vampires," she said. "We're hunters. Well, Jerry's a vampire. One of Marcel's, actually. He's just helping us rid the world of vampires at the root. Tie your friend back up."

"If you want to end the vampires at their roots," Rebekah said, "why don't you kill us right now?"

"There's something we need you to do first," she said. "Now tie your friend up!"

There was a pause. "Okay. Come on, Caroline." She took the younger girl by the elbow and lead her back to the room, sitting her down on the chair and ignoring the burns once again as she tied Caroline up. "Sorry," Rebekah whispered as she put the gag back into Caroline's mouth. She got up to face the three hunters. "What do you want from me?"

The girl, the leader, Rebekah assumed, gestured for her to follow them. Rebekah nodded, encouragingly to Caroline before following the three of them into the room Jerry had originally been in, sharpening the dagger. She had the white-oak-stake pressed to her back, near her heart, and the silver dagger pointed at her from the front. She new that these hunters were fast. She couldn't try to grab one without the other being plunged into her heart. If the dagger was sheathed inside of her, the stake soon would join.

So, however sickening it was, she was forced to follow them through a door at the end of the room and down a lighted staircase. "What do you want me to do?"

"Silence," one of them ordered.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Rebekah shrugged. "My brothers will notice if I'm missing. And Caroline. And when they come, you're screwed." There was a laughter from the other hunter, the boy.

"It's not even daybreak, sweetheart," he said. "Maybe in the morning. But, for now, you're just going to do us a little job."

"Yeah, you keep saying that," Rebekah grumbled. "But none of you seem to care to elaborate. What job is this? Why did you want Caroline? Who were those vampires who kidnapped us?"

"Caroline's a hostage," Jerry said. "That's all. She's here to get you to behave. The vampires were some martyr's working for our cause. Through here." He opened another door for her, leading into you average dungeon, with chains and candles and cold air.

As soon as she walked in, she was struck with a agonizing pain which had her crumbling to the floor, screaming. She couldn't see, thanks to the pain. Her vision had gone blank and she couldn't here anything except her own screams. Her nerves were on fire. She felt nothing but the pain, not the hard stone floor she had fallen to, not the cold air, or light breeze. She couldn't breath, but she was still screaming. She smelled metal, her own blood boiling in her ears. It hadn't lasted long, but she was sure it was never going to end.

Then it did. It was over almost as quickly as if began. She was sprawled out across the stone floor, her messy hair spread everywhere and her t-shirt slid up her belly. She lay their and panted for a second. Jerry and the girl were leaning over a witch with a blood nose who evidently did the spell to cause her such agony.

She was crying in pain as her friends stood her up. Rebekah had managed to keep her tears in, her eyes but a little watery. "Are you okay?" the male hunter whispered in her ear. He was crouched behind her.

"Fine," Rebekah said, sitting up. "What the Hell did that spell do? Oi!"

The other two and the witch turned to her. "It just weakened you, bitch," the female hunter answered. "We need to take Tasha to her aunt. She'll be able to help."

"I'll deal with this," the male hunter answered, standing up and beckoning to Rebekah. "She can't hurt me now and her friend is tied up. You guys go. Call me with news."

"We will," the girl hunter said, before supporting the witch out of the door, Jerry on their heels.

Rebekah tuned into her vampire hearing, but all she heard was muffled cries coming from Caroline that sounded something like her trying to scream Rebekah's name. She must have heard Rebekah cry in pain. It was nice to know Caroline cared. She wanted Caroline to stop screaming her name and use her own vampire hearing to hear that she was fine. She couldn't deal with Caroline's worries above everything. She needed the baby vampire to be strong, at least for now, because Rebekah's bones still ached, and if they did anything like that again that she couldn't be.

"What do you mean I can't hurt you now?" Rebekah said. "I'm an Original. Try me." The hunter just smirked before doing something Rebekah didn't expect. He took off his t-shirt, revealing his tattoo's. "You're one of the five," Rebekah whispered. "I thought you were all gone now that Silas is dead."

"Oh, that didn't matter," he said. "I'm Wren, by the way. You're Rebekah. Nice to meet you."

"What did that spell do?" Rebekah asked, standing up. "What do you want _me_ to do?"

The was a pause. "The spell incredibly decreased your strength so that we could talk without you getting all... mean on me," he said. "It also decreased your speed. Don't worry, it's all temporary. We need you to kill your brothers."

There was another pause before Rebekah through her head back and laughed. "There is not spell you can do that will get me to turn against my family. Not again. So you can take that stake and shove it up your-"

"Now, now," he said. "You're our only hope."

"For killing myself and my family and my kind," Rebekah said. "What makes you think I would agree to that?"

"Because I don't believe you're entirely evil," Wren said, "I think there has to be some good in you. You're the only one who can do it and we need you to do it. To save mankind."

Rebekah sighed and looked around the room. There were a pile of chains in the corner with the occasional shackle thrown in. There were a bunch of lit candles in the room that she assumed were used by the witch for their fire power to take her strength. Other than that and the pentagram drawn on the floor it was simply a dungeon.

"You really are a good guy," she muttered.

He smirked, taking an extra long blink. "I dislike my methods, but my aim here is all good. I want to create a better world for my son. Single father. I hate it sometimes, I know not all vampires are evil... but I have to look at the bigger picture here. You have to die. You all do."

Rebekah held his gaze for a second too long before turning away and walking to the other side of the room. Looking away from him, she pulled her vampire face out. She had lost her strength and speed, she wanted to make sure she still had her fangs. She did, thankfully. She was still very much a vampire. She let her face even out again, humanly and gorgeous before turning back to him after a long pause.

"Do you know how old I am?" she asked, crossing her arms.

He shrugged, shaking his head. "1000+, right?" he asked.

She smirked. "Yeah, something like that. I've been a vampire for so long... but I never forgot what it was like to be human. To be able to run instead of arriving at your destination instantly. To be able to do a hard days work and actually feel, physically like you've achieved something. To be able to change. I was a kid once."

He smiled at her. "That's not so hard to believe."

She stood against him. He was a lot taller than her. "Maybe it would be if I wasn't in my pyjama's. If I had my heels and make up on, had my hair done. If you knew the real me you wouldn't think I could have ever been young."

Wren had really nice eyes. They were turquoise, and she couldn't tell if they were supposed to be green or blue, but they contrasted perfectly with his high cheekbones and curly black hair. He was kind of pale, tall and lean, with noticeable biceps under a button-down shirt and jeans he would have had to peel off at night. "Maybe," he whispered, looking away from her eyes.

Rebekah wondered if he was attracted to her. She swiped the thought away. She was pretty sure he was. She could admit that she was pretty, if maybe insecure, but she knew that look. He was thinking about something he shouldn't be.

"I like your eyes," she nodded, using the tears that had formed in her own from the pain to fake pain. She faked a choke as well, as she spoke. "I wish I had interesting eyes like that."

He shook his head at her. "You do. Two beautiful blues. Classic yet incredible. Perfectly fitting with your blonde hair... you are gorgeous, Rebekah Mikaelson."

Okay, this guy was coming on a little strongly for someone he had just met. But then it occurred to Rebekah that maybe his friends and he had watched her family for a little while before, to get a hold on the situation. He had seen her before, maybe been following her, watching her. He knew her. Or at least, he thought he did. And he really didn't want her to die.

Rebekah choked again, letting a tear fall. "I miss it. Being human. I want it back. There was a cure – well you would know all about that. Being a hunter and all. I know you would have wanted it for Silas... but I wanted it for me. I hate being a vampire. I always have."

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I really wish there was another way. I do. I wish there was a way to cure all of the good ones instead of killing them."

 _The good ones_. Rebekah almost smirked as she remembered everyone she had killed. But she didn't smile. She couldn't break character. "Wren..." she whispered. "I don't want my family to die."

Finally, exaggeratedly, he turned away from her, as if he couldn't bare to see the hurt on her face. Rebekah took the opportunity to pick up two of the alight candles. When he turned back Rebekah shoved them into his eyes, boiling his eyeballs before picking up one of the chains and whacking him over the head so hard with the shackle he fell to the floor.

Rebekah ran up the stairs, two at a time. She had forgotten how slow she was without her vampire speed. She was just as fast as a human! At the top of the stairs she swung open the door into the first room. She saw the door to the corridor and ran to it trying to pull it open but those bitches must have locked it. She pulled back, standing at the other end of the room before charging at the door and throwing all of her weight at it. But she wasn't heavy enough to break it down.

She looked around the room for something that might help and found an oak-wood chair. How utterly convenient that the wood was stronger than that of the door. She smashed it out the door and made a small hole in the wood. She heard noises on the stairs and ran back to shove the first door, leading to the basement, closed, pulling the same chair up under the handle. She went back to the door leading to the corridor, and reached her hand through the hole.

She fumbled around until she found the lock with the key in it. She turned it and fell into the corridor as the basement door burst open, Wren looking around at her, angrily. She slammed the door closed on him before he could get out and locked him in. She then ran down the corridor into Caroline's room.

Caroline looked at her, wide-eyed. Rebekah realized that she still had tears on her face and wiped them away, pulling away Caroline's gag and beginning to untie the knots tying her wrists to the chair.

"What happened?" Caroline asked. The vervain still stung Rebekah, and she hardly had the strength anymore to fight through it. But she did. "Rebekah look out-" Caroline almost screamed.

The Original turned around as Wren's fist landed on her right cheek. She fell to the floor, her normal strength nothing compared to his hunter abilities. She scrambled to her feet as he pulled her into a headlock. She flipped him over her shoulder and pressed a knee to his chest to keep him still. He grabbed her leg and pulled her down and rolled on top, pining her down. She lifted her leg up and managed to kick him so hard he fell against the wall.

She started to feel her vampire strength slowly creeping back into her. As he ascended on her, she started to get up off of the floor to fight back, but before she could, Caroline jumped at him and rugby tackled him to the floor, holding him down by his neck, fangs exposed and ready to rip.

"Don't kill him," Rebekah screamed. Caroline turned to her, vampire face still portrayed as she raised a confused eyebrow. "He's one of the five!"

Caroline's face fell into shock as Wren pushed her off of him. She fell back onto the chair she was sat in and he begun to go for her when Rebekah grabbed his head and smashed it against the wall. He fell down, crumbling to the floor.

There was a pause as Caroline got to her feet and stood next to Rebekah, looking down on him. The Original was terrified.

"Is he...?" Caroline begun.

Rebekah crouched down and pressed her fingers to his neck. She almost cried of relief when she felt his pulse. Thank God. The last thing she needed was the Hunters curse all for some love-sick stalker. She stood up and flicked the hair out of his face. "He'll be fine," Rebekah said as a trail of blood begun from his head.

Caroline shrugged. "Or not. We could heal him."

Rebekah paused. "Yeah, but tie him up first. Then we have to get out of here before their friends come back."

The pulled him onto the chair and tied him to it, like he had made her tie Caroline. She picked up the white-oak-stake and white-ash-dagger. Caroline bit into her wrist and fed him her blood until her woke up, shocked and repulsed and scared all at once. "We only healed you to ensure Rebekah didn't get your stupid curse," Caroline said.

"Give your friends a message from Team Barbie," Rebekah said, both hers and Caroline's arms crossed across their chests. "Come after our family and we rip out your entrails and hang you with them. Right?"

"Right," Caroline said, tying his face with the gag while laughing. Then both of the girls found their way to the front door and used their vampire speed to get home. Rebekah's powers had almost all returned and she was so grateful.

Yes, after a thousand years she had begun to think about the possibility of humanity, but it had passed. It was like when she thought she should get bangs. For a week she was all about the idea, but after some thinking, she decided it would have been a disaster.

She had had to run as a human, fight as a human and never, in 1000 years, had she felt so weak. She didn't want that. She hated it. Not only was she so, completely over wanting to be human, she relished in the thought of being a vampire.

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **6:34am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Caroline had never had such high hopes for hers and Rebekah's friendship. When they got back, they both collapsed onto the couches in the living room. Neither wanted to go to sleep, in case they came back for revenge. Someone had to stay on guard, but neither really wanted to go to sleep.

They fixed some drinks and curled up on the couch in their pyjama's with whatever chocolate of Kol's they found in the fridge. Rebekah bought down her laptop and they bought up Gossip Girl on Netflix after both admitting a small love of the show. Rebekah was only up to season three while Caroline had finished the entire show, so the younger blonde had to be careful not to call out who Gossip Girl actually was, or any other spoilers for that matter.

Elijah came downstairs at 6:35am and surveyed them both. "Why are you two up so early?" he asked.

Caroline wondered if he slept in a suit. He had discarded his jacket and tie and it looked as though he had not slept at all. The two girls compared a knowing smile. "Rough night," Caroline said, shrugging. The girls would probably tell the guys about the hunters in the morning, but right then, it was just their night.

They were badasses together. Well, mostly Rebekah, but Caroline was proud of helping. And she still had red lines on her wrists from spending so long in vervain ropes. But they were healing quickly.

"What about you?" Rebekah asked.

Elijah shrugged. "I wanted some of Kol's food," he answered, sitting on the other side of Rebekah, who paused Gossip Girl as Elijah stole Kol's/Rebekah's large Galaxy bar. "Also... I found Katherine Pierce."

There was a short pause. Caroline gulped. She forgot that the Originals, apart from Elijah, wanted Katherine dead. The problem was, when Katherine stayed in her dorm room, they had sought of become friends over a mutual love of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. If Elijah had found Katherine and told everyone else then Caroline knew her friend was doomed.

"Where is she?" Rebekah asked, taking out a bag of chips to replace her stolen chocolate.

"New York," Elijah said, shrugging. "I don't know whether or not to go."

"Go," Caroline said. "If you really love her..."

He smiled at her. Something that was really rare for him. "I do really love her," he said. "But I also love my family and she's Katherine Pierce. I can't exactly have both."

"Yes you can," Rebekah said. "I told you that I'm sorry for disapproving. Look how nice I'm being to Caroline, Klaus's... something or another. He also told you he would spare her, didn't he?"

"I doubt that will apply in his city," Elijah said. "I can't... I don't want to leave my family behind."

There was a pause. "Do you ever regret not choosing her?" Caroline asked.

Elijah nodded. "Sometimes. Not all of the time. Be honest with me Rebekah, Caroline, do not lie to me. Is there any way, do you two think, Niklaus would spare her if she came here?"

"Yes," Rebekah said. "If Caroline asked."

Both Originals turned to Caroline, who shrugged. "Why do people think I have Klaus so whipped?"

"Because you do," Elijah said. "If I leave tonight, will you talk to Niklaus while I'm away?"

There was an even longer pause as Caroline looked back and forth her two expectant friends. "Wait, are you definitely going now?" she asked, leaning forward and taking some of Rebekah's chips.

"Possibly," Elijah said.

"Yes, you are," Rebekah insisted. "Go an pack a bag. You'll need suits and handkerchiefs and roses-"

"Stop," Elijah said, shaking his head. "Just stop. Caroline, my dear, you convinced Niklaus to apologize to Rebekah for daggering her. Since then he hasn't tried to control any of us. He gave up revenge before for you. He could do it again. Will you try to get Niklaus to spare her? Please?"

Caroline paused again. "Of course. She's my friend, and so are you, Elijah. I'm not making any promises, but I'll try. Now go and pack!"

* * *

 **Please leave a review! I love to hear from you. -Izzy**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi all! Ready for Chapter Ten?  
**

 **Excited to bring Katherine into this story and give Klaroline a little drama, as well as Finn and Rebekah something to do.  
**

 **Just going to briefly add that Kol is also up to something that you'll hear about later in the story. Don't want to give spoilers, just trying to assure you that he's got a storyline of his own coming soon ;)  
**

 **-Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter TEN**

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **13:04pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Elijah left shortly after his conversation with Rebekah and Caroline. Caroline and Rebekah went upstairs at that time to get out of their pajamas and ready for the day. Neither of them shared with the three brothers still in the house where Elijah was, even though they kept asking. They did, constantly, have to reassure Kol and Finn that he was safe and that Klaus didn't dagger him.

They did share, however, that there was two hunters, a witch and a vampire in town, out for their heads. They begun thinking up ways to rid themselves of the hunters, permanently without killing them. Klaus suggested to find them, capture them, and lock them away in the dungeon forever more, until the day they naturally decayed and died.

"One of the hunters has a son, Nik," Rebekah said. "He's a single father."

"Or we could just threaten them," Kol said. "With that idea, you know? Leave now or be held in our dungeon forever!"

"We could just drain the vervain from their systems," Caroline shrugged. "Then we can compel them to leave us alone."

"The Brother Hood of the Five cannot be compelled," Kol shared, shrugging. "Neither can witches. For the sake of the hunter's kid we have no other options than to threaten them."

They were all sat in the living room, drinking coffee together and discussing the hunters. Rebekah had retold to her brothers the story of how she got her and Caroline out of there, but Caroline had interrupted her to blow it way out of proportion, exclaiming that Rebekah had basically been a ninja. It was flattering, but a little annoying.

"Oh, Klaus," Caroline said. "Can I talk to you privately?"

Kol turned to Klaus and wolf whistled. Klaus rolled his eyes before standing up and leading Caroline over to the kitchen. Caroline couldn't help but notice that he looked excited. He was maybe expecting her to talk about them. The possible relationship she had been putting off for so long.

In the kitchen, she had no idea how to start explaining the situation, so she just blurted out with the headline. "I need you to free Katherine Pierce."

"What?" Klaus asked, suddenly looking confused, his eyebrows knitting together and his head cocking. "Wait, is that why Elijah's gone?" He didn't seem angry, just confused, at first.

Caroline nodded, a small fear growing inside of her. "It's just... he found her and he went to see her. And apparently you said you would spare her if he did so. But nobody knew if that applied to here, in New Orleans, _you're_ city! She's been running for five hundred years, she deserves to be with the man she loves, but he doesn't want to be separated from his family, so he wants to bring her here-"

Klaus interrupted her very fast word vomit by raising his hand to silence her. "If I were to allow Katerina in my city without killing her then enemies of mine will be lining up looking for pardon."

"Katherine's only one," Caroline said. "Please, Klaus. She deserves to be with him."

"Are you friends with her?" Klaus asked.

Caroline nodded. Klaus sat on the work top and Caroline faced him. "Tyler and I broke up," she muttered, "I told him to choose between his revenge fantasy with you or a relationship with me I want to offer you something like that."

"Are you prostituting yourself to me in exchange for Katerina's life?" Klaus asked, his eyebrows raising. "Unfortunately I must decline-"

"That's not what I'm offering," Caroline said. "I have no idea what I'm doing in New Orleans, but every time I think about it, all I get is the possibility of your humanity. If it's there, I want to find it. Because I... definitely feel something for you. But I need you to help me help you."

"What do you mean?" Klaus asked.

"I want you to prove to me that there's something inside worth saving," Caroline said. "Listen: You have done terrible things to me, and my friends, and you say you don't have any good inside of you. You push me away, but every time I try to move on, you're there. I definitely like the good in you, Klaus. But you have to decide whether or not you can be good for me. Because if you can then what I feel for you is actually valid and we'll figure it out. We'll figure _us_ out. But if you really are too far gone to be redeemed... then you have to let me go."

Klaus paused. He got angry all of a sudden and jumped at her, pushing her against the wall and holding her there. "I don't want to be saved," he growled. " You need to stop leading me on. I can't change! I am too far gone. I'm..." he looked like he was struggling for words. "Broken."

"I'm not trying to fix you for everyone," she replied, trying to push him away from her. "I just don't want you to hurt me anymore, because if you keep treating me the way you are then there is no hope for us! It is _not_ my job," she growled, "to be abused by you, to be invaded and yelled at by you, just so you can be fixed. I wouldn't be here after being bullied by you for so long if I didn't think you could be human. Please, Klaus, look into the soul you keep hiding, and tell me I'm right! Tell me I'm not here for nothing! Tell me I'm not deluded, and spare that poor girl's life! Please?"

He stepped away from her, letting her breath. "She can live," he told her, looking down, ashamed of his outburst at her. "Under my terms, of course. If she doesn't behave herself I will rip her pretty little head off."

"Thank you," Caroline said. She turned to leave, but Klaus held a hand out to her elbow, holding her still.

"I'm sorry," he said, nodding to the wall he had her pressed up against.

Caroline nodded at him before leaving the kitchen and facing the three Originals who were all trying to pretend they hadn't been eavesdropping.

"I'm fine," Caroline said to them. "I gave Klaus hope and he passed it on to Katherine and Elijah."

"Does Klaus even have any hope with you?" Finn asked.

Caroline nodded. "Yeah, I think he does."

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **21:23pm**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

Katherine poured two, large glasses of red wine, alone in the little kitchen of the apartment she had been staying in. She looked, cautiously over her shoulder, to make sure her guest wasn't watching her. She then tilted the little diamond on her ring, opening a little hole with powder in it. She poured it into the glass she was not planning on drinking from before closing it back over and taking the two glasses of wine into the living room.

She was staying in a very large penthouse above a very rich hotel. There were white couches and hardwood floors and designer rugs. She was living in luxury. She was no longer a vampire and therefore, could no longer compel her way into luxury. But that had never been the only trick up her sleeve. She didn't sleep with the hotel owner to get her room. He was a century old vampire and she held a little secret over his head. Some affair he didn't want his wife finding out about.

"Here you go, Verity," she said, handing the glass of wine to the pretty young woman she was hosting. She sat opposite her guest and sipped her own wine, putting her heeled feet up.

"Thank you," she said, leaning back and trying to look comfortable, swirling her wine in her glass. _Just drink it already..._ "I do hope there are no hard feelings?"

"Girl if there were hard feelings, would I have poured you a glass of my finest wine?" Katherine laughed, completely at ease. The girl in front of her was a witch who had just told her that she was unable to perform a spell to give her immortality before she grew old and died. Which would be soon, according to that doctor her and Caroline had dealt with. What had his name been? Maxfield or something.

"True," Verity said, raising her glass. "To our friendship?"

Katherine raised her glass to meet hers. "To our very long lasting friendship." Their glasses clinked and they linked arms before drinking their wine. Katherine then immediately took Verity's glass so the witch could drop to the ground without spilling anything. She started writhing in pain as Katherine dragged her away from the rugs, so when she started coughing up blood, she got it on the hardwood floor, where it could be washed.

"What..." the witch croaked out. "What did you do, Kaitlyn?" Long lasting friendship. Katherine hadn't even given the girl her real name.

"Have you ever heard of Katherine Pierce?" she smirked, crouching down by the dying girl. She had always known the witch was unable to perform the spell she wanted, but her death was part of a bigger plan. The witch nodded. "You've heard the things the people say about her," Katherine said. "Manipulative, cunning, ruthless... sexy. And of course, downright evil. Don't play with the homicidal kids, honey."

Those were the last words the girl heard before she fell dead. Katherine picked up her iPhone from the coffee table as well as her glass of wine. She smelled it first, looking for traces of the poison before taking a sip. She had to be sure she hadn't picked up the wrong glass. She found Victoria on her contacts list and called her.

"Hey, darling," Katherine smiled as the woman picked up.

Victoria was another witch Katherine knew, one a lot more powerful. "What do you want, Kaitlyn?"

"Immortality," she said, sipping wine. "I did say in our last meeting. I need it soon, as well. So how about you pick up your little Grimiore and do some hocus-pocus and make me live forever?"

"And why would I do that?" Victoria asked. "I already told you, Kaitlyn, I don't help bad people who don't deserve it. Look elsewhere."

"Oh, I certainly did," Katherine said, beginning to pace the penthouse, stepping over the dead witch's body. "I looked and looked and guess what I found? Sweet little Verity, a friend from a long time ago. She's, what... you're best friend, right?"

"Don't you touch her, Kaitlyn," Victoria yelled over the phone. "You leave her the hell alone!"

"Calm down, little witch," Katherine smirked. "We were only having a friendly catch up. Some boy-talk, a little hair make-over, a glass of wine... only... I think there must have been something wrong with the wine. Maybe she was allergic or something. But now she's not quite right."

There was a pause. "What's wrong with her?" Victoria demanded.

"She's dead," Katherine said, losing the innocent, sweet tone and becoming deadly serious. "On my floor. Making a mess. I'm going to have to clean that up, later. Do you know how inconvenient that's going to be?"

There was a slight sob on the other end of the line. "You monster!" Victoria cried.

"Whoa, don't hang up yet," Katherine smirked. "I've got one more surprise for you. I also happened to meet that man of yours today. Toby, right?" She walked over to her closet and opened it, catching the unconscious boy who was bound in ropes. She struggled under his weight, being human. Unconscious boys were heavy. "I've got him here as well. Don't worry, bitch, he's still alive. God, he was too gorgeous to kill. But all good things come to an end. I could easily speed up Toby's if you don't start obeying me."

"You will kill him," Victoria translated, "if I don't do the damn spell."

Katherine laughed. "Probably. Then I guess it will by Amanda. Then Reece. Then Vince, and Vashali, and Chris... you know the problem with having so many friends? So many people to be used against you. Meet me for Coffee at yours at midnight?"

There was a knock on the door of the penthouse.

"Be there," Victoria said. "I'll do the spell. Bring Toby."

Katherine smiled, walking over to the door, after looking onto her bed where another girl was tied up. "Better yet, I'll bring Penny, to prove I'm trustworthy. You'll get Toby after the spell-" She swung open the door and paused, her mouth staying open and her eyes widening at the man stood in front of her. "I'll see you at midnight," she said before hanging up. "What the Hell are you doing here?"

Elijah was leaning against the door frame outside in the corridor, his head bowed, his eyes looking up at her. "I do believe I've made a terrible mistake," he said, straightening up and taking his hands out of his pockets.

"And what would that be?" she asked, pushing her shoulders back and her chin up to look more confident than she was. "And why should I care?"

"I never should have let you go," he said, sadly.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "No. Letting me go was the most decent thing you've ever done. I'm free, maybe not of Klaus, but of you." She tried to close the door, but his hand shot out to keep it open, and he was a billion times stronger than her so when she desperately tried to close it he effortlessly held it open with one hand. He strutted in to the suit, testing his foot in the doorway to see if he could actually go inside before he did.

"I was under the impression you were human," Elijah said.

"And you rushed over here to see if your precious Katerina was back," Katherine scoffed. "Typical Elijah, really. Well, I would love to entertain you, but I, Katherine, am busy. So if you could see yourself out-"

"Still in the murder business, I see?" he said, gesturing to the dead witch on the floor, with blood still pouring out of her mouth. "Some things never change, Katerina."

"I have," she said. "So, sorry to disappoint you, but Katherine Pierce is still around, so it's your cue to piss off." Elijah turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Language," he scolded. "It's actually Katherine I came here to see."

"Super," she rolled her eyes. "I'm not really seeing guests right now. If I was I would have cleaned the bloody carcass off of the floor and maybe put something on a little more flattering. Like... nothing at all?" she teased him. Crap. She had been trying not to flirt.

Now Elijah rolled her eyes, holding his hand out to her, expectantly. "Oh, by all means. Whatever makes you comfortable, my darling."

"As if," she said, scoffing, again. "Still a pervert, I see? And your family still thinks _you're_ the gentleman? Humorous."

He side, turning away again to admire her apartment. "Yes, well you always did bring out my dark side. Do please take your clothes of, Katherine, before this visit gets boring?"

"What are you doing here, Elijah?" she she asked, tired of the flirty side of him only she was allowed to see, walking past him to slam her bedroom door close before he saw her hostages. She went into the kitchen and bought out a glass to pour him some scotch, one of his favorite drinks.

"To see you," he said, serious all of a sudden, the playful, flirty pervert gone. "I never should have let you go."

"No, you shouldn't," she said, handing him the scotch she had poured him. He thanked her before she continued. "Somehow I got your mojo in the break up. But, me? I'm doing so much better without you. Sure, Elena Gilbert shoved the cure down my throat. Yeah, I was chased by the two-thousand year old immortal witch. It was really no trouble when Damon fed me to Silas. And of course, all of my vampire enemies haven't at all been a problem since I turned human. Oh, but _now_ you want me back? _Now_ you're fighting for me? _Now_ you're sorry? You're a joke, Elijah. And going through all of that, and so much more, without you, made me realize that I didn't need you. And I don't _want_ you!"

"I understand why you're upset-" Elijah started, but Katherine interrupted.

"You do?" she asked, doubtfully, beggining to get angry. "You understand that you're one-thousand year old Original Hybrid brother, who had a spot of trouble with a few witches who couldn't even do magic, did _not_ need you more than I did?"

"Katerina-"

"Did I say you could talk?" she asked. "Look, you're not welcome here, and I'm actually really busy tonight. Tomorrow I'll, hopefully, be leaving for Spain. So why don't you run along home to your were-bitch girlfriend and leave me alone."

"Girlfriend?" Elijah asked, shocked. "Katerina, I haven't been seeing anyone since we parted. Since I... abandoned you, so unfairly, in Mystic Falls."

"Er, Hayley Marshall?" Katherine asked, looking at him as though he was being an idiot for not immediately jumping to that ludicrous conclusion.

"That backstabbing, lying, pathetic little girl?" Elijah said. "The one that slept with my brother and then convinced us all that she was with his child? The werewolf who betrayed us and grovelled at our feet when we kicked her out? That Hayley Marshall? How did you know of our never ending love?"

Elijah was rarely sarcastic. "I have spies in New Orleans," Katherine said. "They told me you were falling, all mooney-eyed for the little slut."

"Well, loyal, truthful minions are so hard to find," Elijah shrugged. "I suggest you find new spies. I haven't seen Hayley for weeks. As for the matter of my brother... he will allow you to live."

He sat down on her couch and beckoned for her to sit opposite him. But she was not going to be told to sit in her own place. "What?" she asked, stepping over the dead body to see him better, but not sitting down.

"You are pardoned, Katerina," he shrugged. "From Klaus, at least. Congratulations. I am here to tell you that, and to beg you to join me in New Orleans."

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **21:59pm**

 **Unknown**

Caroline and Rebekah lead Kol, Finn and Klaus to the house they had been captive in the night before. Klaus had argued against Caroline going, but Caroline had insisted on helping. Kol reminded him that him, Finn and Rebekah wouldn't let anything happen to her.

They had decided to threaten them to stay away as natural causes could be manipulated to kill them. Finn was unhappy about it. As far as anyone had gathered, he had been surviving from Stefan's bunny diet since he was bought back to life so he was a little innocent and didn't want to threaten or kill anyone.

They all heard the hunters and the vampire, Jerry, inside, planning a robbery to retake the daggers, the ash and the white-oak-stake. They all new the plan as they barged into the house and stormed up the stairs. Klaus was in the lead with Kol by his side. Caroline had her arm linked through Rebekah's as they followed and Finn was behind them all.

The enemy must have heard them because the five of them all heard them split up. "Klaus, Caroline, you two go after the witch and Wren," Rebekah whispered. "I will go with Kol and Finn to get the vampire and the girl hunter."

They all nodded and split up. Caroline followed Klaus down a corridor with a thick carpet. "I'll restrain Wren, you kill the witch?" Caroline suggested.

Klaus didn't say anything as the corridor turned off into the one leading to the three rooms Rebekah and she had been in. Klaus was clearly following some sought of trail, so Caroline followed him. They were about to enter the room Rebekah had woken up in when they saw Wren run out of another room into the one Caroline had been captive in. Her and Klaus followed him in there and the door slammed shut behind them.

Klaus didn't take any notice as he lunged at Wren, grabbing a fistful of his hair and slamming it into the wall. He fell to the ground in another pool of blood, like he had that morning. Poor guy could not catch a break.

"Or, you know, we could improvise," Caroline shrugged. "I thought we were only supposed to be threatening them!"

"We can do that at home," Klaus said. "Where's the witch?"

They both turned to the door and simultaneously ran at it, grabbing the handle and trying to pull it open. It didn't even budge. They tried knocking the door down, but her vampire strength and his hybrid strength combined couldn't even budge the door.

"Looks like we're stuck in here," Caroline said, giving up and sinking to the ground, her back against the wall next to the door. Klaus, however, tried the door for a little while longer before sitting on the opposite side of the room. He didn't look at Caroline or acknowledge her existence in any way, but he acted as though he was alone.

"I'm sorry, did I offend you in some way?" Caroline asked. "You've hardly said anything to me since we spoke in the kitchen this morning. I could understand it being a little awkward, but not talking to me is just rude."

Klaus shook his head, before pausing. "You... you're so full of life. You always have something to say and you're so empathetic. It's beautiful, Caroline." He tilted his head back, leaning against the wall. He didn't say anything else. His voice was different. Solemn. It was like he was just tired or words.

Caroline crawled over and sat next to him, leaning against the adjoining wall, feeling the need to maybe comfort him. "What's the matter?" she asked.

"There is is again," he said. "Your empathy." That time he seemed a little angry, as if he didn't want _her_ near him. He still avoided all eye contact with her.

"Is it me?" she asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

He nodded his head. "I'm afraid you did. You were right, this morning in the kitchen. It's not your job to be invaded, yelled at, bullied, abused by me, just so I can develop back into the human I once was to deserve you. Caroline I can't change. Not for you, not for anyone. Not fast enough, it took 1000 years for me to get like this and it'll take twice as long for me to change back, especially since I don't actually want to. But I don't want to hurt you any more."

"I don't understand," Caroline said. She reached out for him as Klaus stood up, avoiding her hand. She stayed down, her eyes wide, looking in the space he just was.

"If I were to be redeemed, you _would_ be my only hope," Klaus confirmed. "Which is why I need to let you go. Because it will take too much time. I'll either end up killing you, or a lot worse. Turning you into a monster, like me."

"So..." Caroline was so confused as she stood up, as well. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I can't hurt you again," he said. "I can't invade you, abuse you, bully you, yell at you. I'm not going to change any time soon, and you deserve so much more that to be stuck trying to redeem me. You said this morning that if there wasn't anything worth redeeming then I've got to let you go. I'm letting you go."

There was an incredibly long silence. Caroline just faced him, eyes and mouth wide open as Klaus turned away from her and tried to pry open the door. Over half an hour past of complete silence and Klaus didn't look at her once. Caroline didn't take her eyes off of him though. She couldn't.

He was letting her go... He honestly believed there wasn't anything inside of him worth saving, so he was setting her free, so that the monster he was on the outside didn't hurt her again. The conversation had been so brief, but so beautiful. There was no way in Hell there was no good in him.

But... Caroline never actually wanted to be set free.

So much time past, with Klaus varying from pacing, to trying to smash the door down to sitting down. Caroline just stared at him the entire time, stood up straight as though she had a stick up her spine.

Eventually Rebekah bust down the door, Finn and Kol behind her. Finn and Rebekah had blood all over their hands and Kol had the white-oak-stake. "We have a problem," Rebekah said, gulping.

"We'll be out in a second," Klaus said, holding his arm out to stop Caroline when she tried to walk past him. Kol took the sleeping hunter's body and the three siblings left Klaus and Caroline alone. Klaus caressed her cheek, looking deeply into her eyes before leaning down and kissing her for the first time.

Caroline had expected her and Klaus' first kiss to be majestic. She had imagined the beach, a golden sunset behind them, illuminating their faces. Klaus would be shirtless and they would have just been riding bare back on some white horses. She was always wearing a long white dress in these daydreams with slits up the legs and her hair would be fabulous.

Instead they were in a cell room with a broken chair and frayed ropes and blood on the floor and Klaus had just let her go. She was just wearing jeans and a green jacket and a scarf and her hair was pinned up. There was nothing incredibly majestic about it.

Except his body pressed against hers. The feel of his toned, hard stomach and his soft lips against her, his hands on her hips, creeping around her thin waist. Her own hands were meeting at the back of his neck, holding him to her. She could feel the warm sunset, the sand between her toes, the aching feeling she got after riding a horse that kind of made her just want to melt. She even heard the ocean. It was the perfect kiss. But when Klaus wanted to pull away, his strength was no match for hers.

"Just because I refuse to be with you doesn't mean I don't love you," he said, before turning away and walking out, leaving her there. He clearly expected her to follow, but she didn't. She couldn't move.

She felt her eyes fill up, tears threatening to spill over. She swallowed, willing herself to keep strong. Finally Rebekah walked in and saw her, just standing there. "Klaus said you were up here," she said, walking over to Caroline. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Then Caroline broke down. She fell to her knees and begun to sob. Rebekah got on her knees with her and wrapped her arms around the younger vampire, letting Caroline cry on her shoulder.

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **22:05pm**

 **Unknown**

Rebekah, Kol and Finn found the female hunter and the vampire, Jerry, in some sought of bedroom, with a large, four poster bed with floral sheets and old fashioned furniture.

Rebekah went straight into a fight with the vampire as Kol ran at the hunter. Before any of them got the chance to get anything done, Kol was hit with a sudden extraordinary pain. Rebekah recognized it as the pain she had gone through the night before, the power-withdrawing pain. She left the vampire and ran at the witch, reaching in her chest and pulling her heart out.

Finn was keeping the vampire occupied, while Rebekah was dealing with the witch, and nobody was watching the hunter who descended upon Kol with a certain white-oak-stake.

Rebekah ran at him, but Finn got there first, and without thinking, he reached into the hunters chest and ripped out her heart. Rebekah stared at him, completely dumfounded. As far as she knew, Finn had never killed anybody, apart from Sage, to turn her into a vampire. Now he stood there, having saved Kol's life, but dooming himself to the hunters curse as well. Kol stood up, pushing the body of the dead hunter off of him and picking up the white-oak-stake.

"What did you do, Finn?" he asked, grimly.

Rebekah shook her head. Maybe Finn really had changed. He had just saved his little brothers life, after all. "How did she even get the stake?" she asked. "They were just planning the robbery?"

"Maybe there's more than one," Kol shrugged.

Finn shook his head. "That's impossible. Rebekah burned the rest of that tree, remember? Esther made only one. They knew we were coming and the little robery plan was a distraction to trick us. They must have stolen it during the day."

There was a pause. "Kol, let's go," Rebekah ordered, putting her perfectly manicured hand on Finn's back. "We need to get him home."

"Don't talk about me as though I'm not here," Finn said. "I know what I just did, but I do not need to be patronized about it. I made a mistake."

Kol shook his head as he rested his own hand on Finn's shoulder. "You just saved my life, Finn. Unless that was the mistake you're talking about?"

Finn shook his head. "Of course not. But now I have to deal with this damn curse-"

"We'll fix this," Rebekah said. "Don't worry, Finn. Come on, let's go home."

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **23:59pm**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

Katherine was furious. Elijah had not believed his mistake to be leaving her, he thought he should have taken her with him. No way in Hell was she going to New Orleans. It was not simply a case of being afraid of Klaus, it was that she hated him, and Rebekah, and didn't want to live with them. Simple.

Did she still love Elijah? Of course she did. She had for five-hundred years. And that kind of love did not just go away over night, even if he did abandon her. She would always love him. But she was Katherine Pierce. She was not just about to let some guy tell her what to do, order her around, make her do something she didn't want to. And she did not want to live in New Orleans.

At exactly midnight, she knocked on the door of the witch she was visiting. She had left Elijah with the boy, Toby, asking him to make sure nobody came for him and he didn't try to leave. The girl she had kidnapped, Penny, was next to her, tied up but awake. Katherine had her arm linked through hers.

When the door opened, Victoria stood there and Katherine smirked at her. "Hello, sweetie," Katherine smiled, chucking Penny down at her feet and stepping into the house, no longer needing to be invited in.

"How incredibly punctual," Victoria said, closing the door behind her and helping Penny to her feet.

"I just want to start this little meeting by saying that if you send any of your friends to try and save Toby, they will all be taken hostage as well," Katherine said. "If you try to kill me, a friend of mine will kill them instantly. So, do you hate me more than you love Toby?"

Victoria shook her head. "No, of course not. Go into the living room. You know where that is."

Katherine proceeded to walk into the living room, looking around the house as she did. There were candles all over the floor and surfaces and a pentagram on the floor. Katherine paced as she waited for Victoria to come in. She evidently sent Penny away after checking that she was okay. "I'm not going to fight against you," she said to Katherine. "I know you're too powerful, even as a human, to be overpowered by me. So I intend on playing nicely."

"Good," Katherine shrugged. "Now, take me, quickly, through the spell, before we get started. It will stop me from aging, yes?"

"Not exactly," Victoria said. "You'll still be aging rapidly. Five hundred years has to catch up with you somehow. But it will be like the cure was never in your system."

"I'll be an aging vampire?" Katherine asked, her eyebrows raising.

"No, you'll be human," Victoria said.

Katherine shook her head, stepping forward. "So what, exactly, will be different?" She shrugged off her black coat and threw it over a chair.

"You'll be able to consume vampire blood," the witch explained. "You can change back. Lie in the pentagram. Let's begin."

 **Saturday 23/09**

 **Midnight**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah took a break from talking to Caroline to pop outside and talk to the Hunter that was left, Wren. Klaus had left him, tied up and unconscious in the back of his car, too busy with what he'd said to Caroline to pay any more attention to him. Rebekah opened the back door and her eyes widened. The ropes was empty and Wren was no where to be seen. She moved the ropes and checked the trunk, just to be sure, but he wasn't there either.

"Looking for me?" someone said from behind.

She whipped around to face him and crossed her arms. "You escaped. That's just annoying. What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for you to get to the point," he said. "The whole 'stay away or we'll lock you in our basement' thing. I overheard someone say that. But I don't think you'll go through with it."

She paused. "Why not? Because I'm one of the good ones? Because I'm really innocent at heart?"

He smirked. "Well excuse me for believing. We staked you guys out before we captured you. I was on 'Rebekah duty'. I watched you do everything to bring your family back together. I watched you be sassy and smart and beautiful and strong and I began to like you and I ... I hated yesterday."

"Oh yes, you really hated it," she said, sarcastically. "That's why you took my free will, attacked both my friend and me and tried to convince me to kill my family. You know, usually I don't really go for guys like that."

"Usually I don't go for vampires who manipulate me," he shrugged.

She scoffed. "I was trying to save me and my friend," she defended herself. "In my eyes I was doing the right thing."

"Yeah, and in my eyes, so was I!" he said. "I... I can't help but hate vampires. It's in my nature. If I could turn it off I would because I hate hating them."

"Why?" Rebekah asked, angrily.

He paused, swallowing. "Because Oliver, my son... his mother was turned into a vampire when he was a baby. I... when I became a hunter she was my first kill."

Then Rebekah paused. "That's not my problem," she said.

"The death of my family is not your problem, just like the death of yours is not mine," he said.

"You found a lot of parrelells between us," she said. "What's your point?"

"My point is that we're not to different," he said. "So maybe, instead of hating me and threatening me-"

"I should what?" she snapped. "Feel something for you? The fact that we're the same is probably why we hate each other."

"You're the one who keeps bringing up feelings for each other," he said. "Not me, not since last night. Maybe you should ask yourself why. And Rebekah, don't you dare tell me you don't feel for me because I tried to hurt your family, because I had to do a background check as well. Stefan Salvatore: Tried to kill Klaus at least twice. Matt Donovan: Killed Finn. Marcel Gerard, where do I begin? You keep bringing up feelings for me because they're there and you can't use your family as an excuse. I won't allow it."

There was a brief pause. "You really speak your mind, don't you?" she said. "I mean, really, there's no holding back with you."

"Maybe you should take a leaf out of my book," he said, "and be honest with yourself. If all the signs are pointing us to hatred, why do you keep bringing up romantic feelings?"

"Because... maybe they're there," she said before darting forward and pulling him into a kiss that he returned passionately. He hands carressed her face and she held the front of his shirt. After a minute she pushed him away. "Get out," she ordered.

"You kissed me," he reminded her.

"And now I'm telling you to get out," she said.

He rolled his eyes before leaving.

* * *

 **Please leave a review! I love to hear from you. -Izzy**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey all! Early update!  
**

 **ElijahsKaterina: I sent you a PM answering all the questions in your review because it was too long to put in an authors note. Let me know if you didn't get it because I don't think my PM is working.**

 **Anyway, the rest of you: No Klaroline in this chapter I'm afraid. SORRY! But loads of Kalijah and more Klaroline in next chapter, I promise.**

 **-Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter ELEVEN**

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **06:18am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn woke up with a gasp. He had somewhat personalized the room he was staying in with some books and clothes, but it was still like a guest bedroom. He should probably do something about that. He had just had a dream that he was falling in pitch black. There was nothing to see, hear or smell, but it just felt, in his bones, like he was falling. He woke up just before he landed, though.

He got up and went into the onsuit bathroom. He turned to the mirror and sighed. Since he was bought back to life, his hair had grown out and gotten messier and he had let his stubble come through. He was still in his t-shirt and flannel trousers that he wore to bed. He brushed his teeth and washed his face.

He turned back to the mirror and gasped. Behind him, standing in his shower, was the hunter he had killed.

"Finn," she whispered. "Good morning." He turned around to look at her without the mirror, but she was gone. He shook his head and turned back toward the mirror, and again, gasped. She was right next to him, breathing down his neck. "It will be for you. A good morning, that is. I'll never be able to see the sun rise again."

"How are you here?" he asked, backing against the wall of the bathroom as she cornered him. "You're..."

"Say it," she urged. "What am I, Finn?"

He sighed. "You're dead. I killed you. Is this the Hunter's curse, then? Or are you a ghost? Or a dream?"

"Could a dream do this?" she asked, shoving his shoulder. "What did I do to deserve death? I was only trying to fulfill my destiny."

"You were trying to kill my brother," he growled. "My younger brother. I was not just about to let him die."

The Hunter shrugged as she stepped away from him. "But you tried to kill him before, remember? You tried to kill all of your siblings. Why change that now? Why over look, now, that their monsters?"

Finn went past her, back into his room. "You're not real. You're a hallucination. You're not real. You're dead." She shoved him again, with a strange amount of strength. He stumbled and fell into the bedside table, breaking it under his weight.

"Is that not real?" she yelled. He stood up and started towards her. He was an Original, for Gods sake, and it was time he started acting like one. He snapped one of the broken table legs and tried to use it to stab the Hunter hallucination.

She cried out, but not in her voice. The hallucination was wiped away, revealing that Finn had just stabbed his little sister in the shoulder with a stake. Blood started soaking through the t-shirt she was sleeping in, staining the gray with red. Kol and Klaus ran into the room when they heard Rebekah cry out, both having obviously just woken up. Finn pulled the stake out of his sister, who quickly began to heal.

"I'm fine," she said, to her other two brothers, who didn't seem angry at Finn. Kol wrapped his arm around Finn, who apologized over and over again to Rebekah.

"It's not your fault, brother," Klaus said, checking Rebekah's wound to make sure she was alright. Rebekah waved him off. Being an Original, the pain had subsided already. "Remember when I had the curse, Rebekah? Kol? I can't count on my fingers how many times I hurt you two and Elijah when I thought you were hallucinations."

"I'm not mad at you," Rebekah said, hugging Finn and leaning on his shoulder. "I'm not angry."

Finn nodded, still panicking. "I know. I know. This is going to suck."

Rebekah nodded. "That's true."

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **09:34pm**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

Katherine sat up in bed, her hair a mess over her face. She lifted a rough hand to push the brown curls away so that she could see as she swung her bare legs out of bed and shakily stood up. She tied a light green and pink kimono around her body and brushed her hair before leaving her room.

In the kitchen, Elijah was making her coffee. Black and sweet, just how she liked it. She would never admit to him that he was perfect at making coffee. "Are you still here?" she asked. "Did I not indicate my distaste for you strongly enough, yesterday, to have you believe that I don't actually want you in my life?

He rolled his eyes. "You did. However, I want you in my life, so I will not stop fighting for us."

The spell had been successful. She could now drink vampire blood and turn back into a vampire. But she hadn't yet asked Elijah for his blood. He seemed to be the nearest vampire she could trust and she wanted it to be his blood. She wanted to be part of his sire line. She always had.

But she couldn't ask him, without him taking it the wrong way. She took her coffee from him with thanks and hoisted her small body up on a bar stool, her long kimono falling around her legs, revealing one.

"So how was your little meeting, last night?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from her leg and sitting on the bar stool opposite her. She had texted him last night, after the spell was done, to let the hostage go but when she got back, she was too tired to talk. Elijah still didn't know what the spell was for.

"Good," she said, sipping her beverage. "How long are you going to be staying for?"

"As long as it takes," he said, simply, shrugging.

She sighed, picking up the newspaper that was on the table and skimming over the headlines. "As long as what takes, exactly?"

"I need you to forgive me," he said. "I want you to give me a second chance."

"A third chance," she corrected, throwing the newspaper to one side. "You remember in 1492 when I fell in love with you and you wanted to sacrifice me?"

He sighed. "I was never going to allow you to die, Katerina. I told you the last time we saw eatchother, that I had a plan. I also apologized for that, if I remember correctly, and you forgave me. If you can forgive me once, you can forgive me again."

"Exactly, Elijah," Katherine said. "How many times am I going to have to forgive you before I give up on you? Apologizing doesn't make it all okay when you keep screwing up."

"I'm going to change," he said. "In the way I treat you. I promise I'm going to change."

"You've broken all of your promises," she said. "You give me your word but you always break it! _Two_ strikes and you're out. I don't play baseball. How am I supposed to trust you?"

He stood up and walked over to her around the table. He caressed her cheek and leaned his forehead down against hers. "Take a risk, and give me one more chance. I promise that after one more chance, if I do you wrong again, I'll let you go. Forever. Please."

She scoffed before getting up and walking past him. She slammed the door to her bedroom and sighed. If she asked for his blood he would see it as her excepting and giving him a third chance. And she wanted to. Oh God, she wanted to. She wanted to drink his blood and turn back into a vampire, to have him be a part of her. She wanted him and her to start a new life away from it all. She wanted him to choose her, the woman who always loved him, over the family that only abused him.

But she didn't want to get hurt again.

He loved her, but he would always put her last. She wanted to be put first, by just one person. She wanted Elijah to choose her and stick with that choice.

But he never would.

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **10:15pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah got off of the phone with Elijah. Apparently Katherine was being stubborn, as always. She had told Elijah about Finn and the Hunter's curse and he said he would be home as soon as possible, but Rebekah told him to stay with Katherine. If he left then, Katherine would never give him another chance. Finn had three of his siblings and Caroline with him. He didn't need Elijah.

Klaus and Kol had left to find Sophie and talk to her about the Hunters, leaving Caroline and Rebekah to watch over Finn, who was locked away in his room. Caroline had just finished telling Rebekah all about what Klaus had said the night before.

"Maybe it's for the best," Rebekah shrugged. "I mean... now you are safe from Klaus. You can move on, find somebody who will treat you right." They sat together on the couch with their feet up. Caroline was covered in tissues and her eyes were red.

"I thought you wanted Klaus and me together," Caroline said.

Rebekah smiled. "That was mostly Kol. I have nothing really against it except that he's always hurting you. I love my brother and I want his redemption as much as Kol, Finn and Elijah. But you shouldn't have to be abused by him to get it."

Caroline sighed. "If I'm not here for Klaus' redemption then what is the point of me even staying?"

"You're my friend," Rebekah said. "Kol is already picking out play lists for your tour. Elijah and Finn both like you. You're here for the rest of us. Besides, you and Klaus may yet figure it out."

"What do you think will happen with Katherine?" Caroline asked.

Rebekah shrugged. "If she comes here... I promised Elijah I would be nice. You're already friends with her, aren't you?"

Before Caroline could say anything they heard a crash from upstairs. Both girls got up and rushed up to check on Finn, undoing the locks on his door to go inside of his room.

Finn was curled up in his armchair, rubbing his temples. "That crash wasn't me," he said. "I think something fell over in Kol's room."

"Good," Caroline sighed in relief, leaning against the door frame.

"Good?" Finn asked. "Nothing about this is good." He held up his hands which were still stained with Rebekah's blood. "Is the blood of my little sister on my hands, good?"

"That's not what I meant-" Caroline started, but Rebekah interrupted her.

"Stop blaming yourself for that, Finn. It's not your fault."

Rebekah and Caroline left and leaned against the opposite wall. "This is terrible," Caroline said.

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **Noon**

 **Wren's apartment**

Rebekah fisted the door repeatedly and angrily. She had left Finn in the care of everyone at home and came to quickly talk to Wren about the night before. He came to the door quickly in a t-shirt and flannel pyjama trousers.

"You're ready for bed?" she asked. "It's noon!"

"I've been home all day," he said. "What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. He was clueless. She had no idea why she kissed him the night before. Yes, he was cute and she knew she was in no place to not like a man because he hurt her family but she shouldn't have kissed him. She knew nothing about him. She didn't _like_ him. "I want to talk about last night," she said. "There are some things I should probably explain."

"Like why you kissed me before ordering me away?" he asked. "Look, Rebekah, you're cute and fun and complicated. But I'm really getting mixed signals here. You say you have feelings for me-"

"I think," she corrected. "Look, I can't stay. My brother killed your friend and has the curse. But I had to come bt. I... I think that we might possibly have something that might be able to be classified as a connection. You started it."

He looked inside the apartment before stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him. "Okay, sure I may have started this whole 'crush' thing but you're the one who kissed me, remember? Look... I do have feelings for you. I was ordered to watch you for about a month and in that time I fell for you and I hated what I was doing when I was doing it a couple nights ago but you have to remember that I was only doing it because this damn hunter thing forced my opinions to change about everyone I meet."

"Stop trying to defend yourself," she said. "You still tried to make me kill my family by threatening the life of my friend. You're an asshole, end of story."

"No, it's not the end of our story," Wren said. "Because I have feelings for you and you have them for me and after last night, you have no right to deny their existence. And before you start pinning me as the bad guy just remember that it's in my nature to hate vampires and you think I've done horrible things but I've only done them to monsters. People who have killed others. You're upset because I was part of a plan to kill your family but for every person you killed, Rebekah, there has probably been a family mourning them, heartbroken over them so you are no better than I am so maybe you should stop pretending that you are."

She scoffed and was about to say something else when there was a small cry of 'Daddy?' coming from inside his apartment.

"Is that your son?" Rebekah asked. "Oliver, is it?"

Wren looked at her and nodded. "I should go and see what he wants. Listen, he's sleeping around his friends house tonight so maybe you should... we could go out somewhere for dinner and we can talk about who's in the right, who's in the wrong, and if we can drop it all because we feel for each other."

Rebekah nodded. "That sounds nice. Not here though, right? God forbid you invite a vampire inside."

"I never said that," he said. "I just... it's in my nature, Rebekah. I hope you can understand that. Roseau at seven?"

"Don't be late," she ordered.

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **Noon**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

"I'm sorry about your brother," Katherine sighed, curled up on the couch opposite Elijah. He had just finished telling her about Finn's curse. She was trying to be civil with him, but it was annoying when she wanted him out of her life. She guessed that feeling mixed with her desire to keep him with her. "You should be at home with him." As much as she secretly didn't want him to leave, she thought it was best to point this out to him.

"Nice try," Elijah said. "I doubt Rebekah or Caroline would allow me to come back without you."

"Caroline?"

Elijah nodded. "Miss Forbes is in New Orleans. I think she went there for Niklaus, but she blamed it on a mental breakdown."

Katherine was silent for a second before laughing. "I didn't think she'd actually do it," she said. "We shared a room for a while, when I had nowhere else to go. I kept trying to convince her to go, and she tried to convince me to go for you. In the end we begun making plans for the both of us to go and kick Hayley out of your lives... then Bonnie Bennett came back to life, and I had to leave. I didn't think Caroline would actually end up in New Orleans."

Elijah nodded. "She told me something similar. She's quite good friends with Rebekah, now. They both convinced me to chase after you."

Katherine just nodded, not quite sure what to say. She was about to ask about his blood when there was a knock on the door. She stood up and strutted over to the door and swung it open, smiling when she saw her guest.

"Do you have it?" she asked, standing aside so Troin di Anelia could walk into her penthouse. Elijah looked over, but seemed uninterested in the affair. Katherine dealt with a lot of people, made deals with a lot of people to survive. She knew so many vampires and other supernatural beings so Elijah rarely paid any attention to their dealings.

"I do," Troin said, smiling as she opened up her bag. She held up a vial full of a thick, red liquid Elijah recognized as blood. Katherine beamed as she took the vial and walked over to the kitchen, picking up her phone and dialing in a number. "Do you have the poison?"

Katherine rolled her eyes, not looking at Troin. "It's on the coffee table, in the ring."

Troin walked past Elijah, not paying any attention to him, either, and picking up the little ring Katherine had left on the coffee table. "So this means we're over? No more dealings, or missions-"

"Yeah, yeah," Katherine sighed, bored, as she put the phone to her ear. "You can go." Troin walked out as the person Katherine called picked up. "Hey, Asha," she said. "I have the blood. You know what that means, right? I'm out of your debt... I am still grateful, honey, I just hate owing people. When can we meet?...Okay. I'll be there."

"What's this all about?" Elijah asked as Katherine returned to sitting opposite him.

Katherine shrugged. "A friend did a favor for me a while back. I owed her and now I'm finally out of her debt. Which is good, because, knowing her, she'd have me do something horrible. Troin owed me a favor, so I just put two and two together. Anyway, I have to meet this friend at a party tonight. Want to be my date? I could use the back up."

Elijah nodded. "Of course. Who's blood is it?"

"Klaus's," Katherine said. "This friend wants it to cure a werewolf bite. Troin knew someone who regularly dealt with wolves, so kept some of Klaus's blood nearby at all times. She's now robbed him. Everything fits together. That reminds me: I may know a witch that's able to locate the next potential hunter. She's pretty good at finding supernatural beings, so she might be able to help your Finn situation. Unless Klaus has already got it under control?"

"I'll ask," Elijah said, looking up at her. She ended up sitting on the arm of the couch he was sat on, like she used to when they were together.

"Great," she said. "They're all going to be at a cocktail party tonight where I can quickly get everything done and be out of a very annoying debt. Party starts at seven so be ready for nine."

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **15:54pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

"You're a killer," the hunter girl said, pacing the length of Finn's room. He knew, in his heart that she was just a hallucination of the curse, but she seemed too real. He sat in the chair with his head in his hands, trying to block out the sound of her voice. "I mean it. You're such a hypocrite, as well. You hate Klaus because he relentlessly kills people, but you just murdered me. You're no better than your brother. In fact, you're worse. He's, at least, trying to redeem himself. Or he at least acknowledges he's evil."

"You're not real," he growled.

"Is that what you tell yourself?" the girl said. "I was real. I was a person, I had a life and you stole that from me! I had a husband, back in Philadelphia. He didn't know about the supernatural. I had a son!"

"I don't believe you," Finn said. "You can't tell me the truth, you're dead!"

"And who's fault is that?" she snapped, leaning on the arms of Finn's chair. "You killed me. Did you even know my name?"

He looked at her. She had dark hair, in a short, pixie-cut style and wide, bright eyes with dark make up, skinny leather trousers and a cropped leather jacket over a gray tank top and knee high boots. It was what she had died in. "No. I don't," Finn said. "I really didn't mean to kill you. But you were trying to kill my younger brother. What would you have done?"

"The right thing," she said. "Which is not killing someone. You're brother is a monster. You are too. And my name is Minnie, by the way. Not that it matters, since you killed me and all. Am I the first person you killed, or one of many?"

Finn gulped. "I've done things I'm not proud of," he admitted. "But I am not a monster. I have remorse! I already feel bad about this!"

"Not bad enough," said another voice from behind him. Finn turned around to see Esther swaggering toward him, an angry expression on her face. "Thanks, Minnie. I'll take it from here." Finn looked toward the hunter but she was gone.

"Esther," he gulped standing up to meet her.

He tried to moved toward her, but she ducked away, giving him a disgusted look. "How dare you?" she said. "You're a monster, Finn. Look at what's become of you."

He shook his head at her. "I never meant to be like this. It was to save Kol-"

"But you lied to me," she said. "When we tried to put an end to the monstrosities that were your siblings. I thought you were different, but you're a murderer, just like them."

"I'm sorry," Finn said. "Not to you. I should never have tried to kill my siblings. I should never have become this. I'm sorry to them, and to myself. I let myself down, not you."

"Oh, you let me down alright," she said, crossing her arms as she looked at him. "I thought you were the good one. I thought I had, at least, raised on decent person, but you're just a monster. How dare you even try to save Kol? He's even worse! Or is he? You're just as evil as the rest of them."

"Maybe," he said. "But I did what I had to to save Kol. I would do it again and again to save my family. My real one. Not you."

"Since when were they your real family?" she asked. "You hated them. You tried to kill them because they were monsters. Klaus daggered you for nine hundred years and now they're your real family? Now you're choosing them over doing the right thing? Pathetic."

"They bought Sage to me," he said. "They bought me back to life. All you ever did was try to kill me."

"Because you're a monster and you know it!" she said. "That Hunter wasn't even your first kill. You claimed to be good. You're family was wrong to bring you back to life. You're a coward, Finn. Did you like killing that Hunter?"

He shook his head. "No, of course I didn't," he said.

"Tell the truth," she yelled. "You did, didn't you? You loved it."

He kept shaking his head. "No! I didn't. I hated it!"

"You hated saving your brother?" she asked. "Lies! You loved it. Admit it!"

"No!"

"You relish in being a monster," she said. "How did it _feel_?!"

He snapped. "It felt bloody brilliant! But I hate that it felt that way!"

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **19:00pm**

 **Roseau – New Orleans**

'Before you start pinning me as the bad guy'... hadn't she said something similar once? She sighed. Rebekah's mind was currently like a labyrinth of nonsensical thoughts with no organization to them. At all.

One the one hand Wren had stood by as a witch had taken her strength and speed and power. He had tried to convince her to turn against her siblings and kill them and he had, or his friends had, tried to use Caroline to acheive blackmailing her.

But, due to his Hunter curse, he was forced to hate vampires, he didn't want to and he didn't want to want to kill her family. He didn't do a great job of trying to convince her because his heart wasn't in it and that was obvious. And it wasn't technically his fault that he hated Caroline and her.

Wren had lost his wife to what he considered to be a curse and was trying not to hate vampires because of it. He had stalked her for about a month but considered it to be scouting the enemy, not anything creepy.

"Hi," Wren said, snapping her attention away from her thoughts. Rebekah was sat on one of two leather couches facing each other near the window of Roseau and Wren stood at the coffee table between them, looking down at her. She had her feet curled up on the couch and was picking at a loose bit of leather. "You look really lost in thought."

He had changed out of his pajama's to a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up and not tucked into his dark, slim trousers. He wore a grey waist-coat over it and had a messenger bag over his shoulder, her curly black hair neater than it had been this morning. "I am," Rebekah said as he sat across from her.

He called a waiter over. "I don't know about you, but I'm ready to order." Rebekah stayed silent as he ordered a cheeseburger and fries. She asked the waiter for the same thing and he walked away as Rebekah and Wren turned to each other, waiting for the other one to speak first.

"What were you thinking about?" Wren asked her.

"I was thinking about the fact that I've only had three conversations with you, one of which involved you blackmailing me to turn against my family with the life of my friend," Rebekah said. "Yet here we are having dinner. I don't usually make instant connections with someone but somehow, Wren, you got me to like you. Congratulations. Now you just have to convince me that it's worth it."

"If what's worth what?" he asked, leaning his elbows on his knees and holding his hands.

"If our connections worth forgetting everything you did," she mused.

"I've been wondering the same thing," he said. "I definitely feel something for you. I hope you understand how special you must be that after being cursed to hate all vampires you somehow managed to make me like you anyway. It's quite incredible actually. But I've been thinking... I'm destined to kill you, it's my nature to hate you and yet I fancy you. Is it worth it? Is it worth fighting against who I am?"

"It wasn't for your wife apparently," she said. "That's my biggest issue, Wren. You see, you were married, you had a kid together, you loved each other and the curse made you hate her so much you killed her. Yet you feel for me? When you hardly know me? I'm the one who discards the hatred you hold for my kind? That's hardly believable Wren. How do I know you're not using me?"

"You don't," he said. "I guess that's a risk that you're going to have to ask yourself if it's worth it. Maybe you can stop looking at me like I'm some monster that wants wants to kill you... and I can stop pretending that I am. And maybe if I can force my hatred for vampires down to embrace what I feel for you despite the large number of innocents you've killed then you can forgive me for going along with a plan to rid the world of vampires to create a better one for my son."

"What if I don't like you enough?" Rebekah asked.

"You liked me enough to kiss me," he pointed out. "You liked me enough to arrange this... date. As for Oliver's mother... we were seperated. I didn't feel for her the way I once did by the time of her death. She will always be a part of who I am but I wasn't involved with her when I started seeing the tattoo."

Rebekah paused, waiting for a response to come to come to her. "So what do you suppose we do? I do happen to like you, you see. You're attractive, you seem smart, sensitive, confident. There's a certain determination to you. Yet I know nothing about you. I'd like to know more about you."

"I'd like to know more about you too," he said. "I just wish we had met under different circumstances."

"Well let's put that behind us for now," she said. "Pretend that we met, just here, right now. What would you say?"

He took a deep breath before getting up and walking to the door of the bar. He walked back over to her and looked down at her, smiling. "Hi," he said. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Terrible," she commented, airily. "I wasn't going to pay anyway. Go back and start again."

Wren sighed before walking away and back over. "Do you believe in love at first sight?" he asked. "Or should I walk past again?"

She sniggered. "I've heard that one before. Go back and try again."

"I suppose the 'did it hurt when you fell from heaven?' one is also overused?" he asked. She nodded, smiling as he walked away.

When he came back over he said, "Are you a magician? Because when I look at you, everyone else disappears."

Rebekah laughed. "No, I hate those ones. Try again."

He rolled his turquoise eyes, walking to the other side of the bar again. "Do you have a Band-Aid?" he asked when he came back over. "Because I just scraped my knee falling for you."

"I just said I hate those ones," she reminded him. "Keep going."

He repeated the process of walking away and back over, a smile growing on his pink lips. "You're so beautiful you made me forget my pickup line," he tried.

She scrunched up her nose, shaking her head in distaste. She laughed more as he walked away. When he returned he said, "I was wondering if you had an extra heart? Because mine seems to have been stolen."

She took a deep breath, considering it before shaking her head. "One more time. Make it good."

He walked away and paused at the otherside of the bar, thinking about it. When he came back over he sat across from her. "Okay, look. I've been thinking all evening about the perfect pickup line but none of them would work. Then I realised, you're just a person, I'm just a person, and all I can really say that won't gross you out is: Hi! My name's Wren."

Rebekah paused. "My name's Rebekah. It's nice to meet you." She reached her hand out to shake his and he turned it over and kissed it.

"Thank you for giving me the oppurtunity to meet you," he said, smiling.

She shrugged. "You're just lucky I have two meals coming over."

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **21:00pm**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

Katherine had left the penthouse at seven to run some errands, so she had texted Elijah to meet her at the party. She wore a shot, wrap-around black dress that was tight about the waist but with a thick, flimsy skirt. It had no sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. She had styled her curly brown hair in a half-up/half down style and wore high-heeled black shoes. She was laced in silver jewelry and, all together, looking fabulous.

She walked onto the venue, a ballroom with a spiraling staircase in the middle, leading to rooms above and beyond. The whole place was draped in fairy lights and pink flowers. Suited men dance with women in short dresses. Most of them were vampires, but there was the odd werewolf or witch or even the stray human, a catagory that unfortunately included her. Katherine was instantly greeted by people she knew.

She weaved between the crowds, struck up short conversations with boring people, and waited for Elijah to come along.

Finally, in the middle of a conversation about pesky werewolves with a witch called Christina, Katherine saw him walk into the room, talking to a vampire called Jennifer. "Excuse me," she said the witch, keeping ever so polite as she made her way across the room to see him.

He wore a black suit, like always, with a black shirt and tie, one hand in his pocket and the other make gestures as he spoke. She went up behind him and took his hand courteously. "Mind if I steal him?" she smiled to Jennifer, leading Elijah onto the dance floor and pulling him into a slow dance. "Heads up: everyone here is supernatural or knows about the supernatural, and they all know me so do try to behave yourself before I... get a bad reputation."

Elijah raised an eyebrow at her, spinning her around. "And what kind of reputation are you afraid of, Katerina?"

She noticed how he was leading the dance, controlling her moves like a puppeteer and she hated it. She tried to regain control of the dance, but he had her under his spell. "Well, I would hate for people to think that I'm... that I care."

"You still care?" he asked, twirling her.

She fell onto Elijah, feeling dizzy after the spin. Damn old age. He steadied her as her body was pressed against his. "Maybe sometimes," she admitted. "I still hate you and I'm still mad and I don't think I'll ever be able to trust you again. But I can't just stop... caring. Believe me, I tried. Come on, let's go and find that witch."

"Is she here?" Elijah asked, knowing exactly which witch she was referring to.

Katherine nodded. She separated from Elijah and lead him through the crowds until they were in a corner, where a few girls were chatting. Katherine slipped into their little circle. "Hey, Mary," she greeted, giving one of the girls a brief hug. The other girls all discarded, all either being afraid of Katherine, or just hating her.

"Hey, Kat," Mary the witch said, hugging her back. "Sorry about those girls. What are you doing here?"

"Meeting Felicity," she shrugged. "I have something she wants to get me out of her debt. Hey, have you met my... friend, Elijah?" She bought Elijah forward, who kissed Mary's hand when the witch held it out to shake. Katherine wondered if he did that to every girl he met at a party. "Elijah, this is Mary, the witch I was telling you about."

"You talk about me?" Mary laughed. "Interesting."

"How have you been, girl?" Katherine laughed.

Mary shrugged. "So-so," she said. "Jake and I split up. He was seeing someone else behind my back. But I'm doing okay. His loss, you know? Anyway, what about you? Are you still with that guy Berny told me about? The guy with the suits-"

"We also split up," Katherine interrupted as Elijah raised an eyebrow.

"Shame," Mary said. "Berny said you loved him-"

Katherine interrupted her again. "Berny can't keep secrets. Can you do me a huge, huge, _huge_ favor?" she said, ignoring Elijah's chuckle behind her. She had already accidently admitted to caring him in a moment of weakness, she didn't want to think about her love for him.

"Why do I get the feeling that's all you really wanted to talk to me about?" Mary laughed. Katherine joined in, pretending to like the young girl. She couldn't have been older than her when she first turned. "What's up?"

"Would you possibly be able to locate the next potential hunter?" Katherine asked.

There was a short pause as Mary looked between Katherine and Elijah, joining the dots of their relationship. "Someone you know got the curse?" she asked Elijah, turning away from Katherine.

Elijah nodded. "Unfortunately my older brother killed a hunter to save my younger brother. Family drama. Can you help us out?"

Mary paused again, before turning back to Katherine. "If I do this, that means I'm out of your debt?" she asked. "I don't owe you anything?"

Katherine paused. "Fine. I'll have Elijah, here, in my debt, and that's even better. So what can you do to help?"

Elijah didn't look at all scared to be in Katherine's debt, which obviously confused Mary. She shook her head to clear it. "I can trace the magic in the hunter's tattoo. It would have appeared by now. I'll find the youngest tattoo. Then he had to kill a vampire before fully turning into a Hunter."

"Got it," Katherine said. "When can we do this spell?"

She sighed. "I'm busy tonight. I'll get the spell done tomorrow night and contact you when it's finished."

"How can I trust you?" Katherine asked.

The witch rolled her eyes and smirked, as if Katherine was joking. "You're my best friend, Kat. You know I'll do anything for you." The witch laughed as she walked away.

"Thank you," Elijah said, facing her.

Katherine shrugged. "No problem. I will need you to do something for me, though. We'll talk about that later. Now I need to go and find Asha, and then we're done here."

She walked over the the spiraling staircase in the middle of the dance floor that was covered in fairy lights. She started climbing up, Elijah right behind her. "So, who is Asha?"

"I told you," Katherine said. "A vampire I've owed for a very long time." At the top of the stairs was a door that Katherine opened into a very long corridor. At the end was a girl, no older than fourteen, pale with greasy dark hair, but over seven hundred years old. There was an open window behind her, wind blowing transparent white curtains around her.

"Katherine," she smiled. "Do you have it?"

"No need to be so sinister," Katherine said, walking up to her and handing her the vial of Klaus' blood from inside her clutch bag. As Asha tried to take it, Katherine held it out of her reach. "I don't owe you anything after this," she said. "We're even?" Asha only laughed.

"You're human, Kath," she said. "You're in no position to tell me who's even with who. I'm so much stronger than you. We're even when I say we are. Now, be smart and hand that over."

"Actually," Katherine said, smiling, "when my date's an Original Vampire, I would guess that we're even when _I_ say so. Understood?"

Asha looked past Katherine to Elijah, who was right behind her, hand on her shoulder. He shrugged at the vampire. "An Original?" she asked. "I've never actually seen one in the flesh before."

"We're even, right?" Katherine asked.

There was a pause. "Right," Asha said. "Just give that to me." Katherine handed the vial over before turning and walking back down the corridor.

"Nice doing business with you, bitch," Katherine said.

"Back at you," she said, before going into one of the adjoining rooms off of the corridor.

After they left to corridor Elijah took her hand and lead her off to another room. "Where are we going?" she asked. "Do you even know this place?" Without answering her, Elijah lead her to a small balcony, really high up and looking over a beautiful New York at night time.

"I love you," he said, holding her hands. "I just want to make sure you believe that."

She took a deep breath before sighing. "You don't trust me. You never have. You can't honestly expect me to put my faith in you again. When you give me nothing back! You didn't believe I loved you... so why should I believe you? And because _I_ love you is not a good enough reason. I don't love you any more. It's time for you to move on."

"I tried that," he said. "For a fleeting second I thought I could. But I have loved you for five hundred year and I'm never going to stop. No matter how hard you push me away. I know you, Katerina. I refuse to believe that you don't love me anymore."

She paused. "Okay, I do. I do, I love you. But everyone has flaws and I'm seriously working on mine. I don't want to love you and I don't want to be a part of your life."

 **Sunday 24/09**

 **22:30pm**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

Needless to say, Katherine needed a lot of alcohol when she got back. "So, what was this favor you wanted from me?" Elijah asked as he walked into the room. Katherine was sat in the living room of the penthouse, finishing off a bottle of wine. Katherine had let her hair down and kicked off her heels but she still wore her dress and Elijah had taken off his jacket, tie, and shoes. Katherine really did love him in black.

He had recently gotten off the phone with Kol, telling his siblings about the witch who was going to help them find the next hunter. Klaus had officially thanked Katherine, which was proof, for him at least, that he wouldn't kill her if she _did_ go to New Orleans with Elijah.

There was a pause. "I want your blood."

"My blood?" he asked, putting his empty glass of wine down.

Katherine nodded. "Last night when I went to see that witch, she did a spell for me that made it possible for me to turn back into a vampire."

Elijah was silent for a little while. "You want to turn back into a vampire?" he asked, doubtfully. "When you could have a fresh start as a human?"

"I don't want a fresh start," she said, shaking her head. "I'm not going to change, Elijah, no matter how much you want me to. And if I don't turn back soon... I'll die."

"What do you mean, you'll die?"

"I'm aging," she said. "Ever since Damon fed me to Silas, I've been growing older. I think I've done a pretty good job of hiding it, but I have a month at most. I need to turn back soon. I know you want your precious, human, Katerina, but that girl is gone, Elijah-"

"I don't believe you," he said. "But I think you do, and you're wrong. But I don't think you quite understand. I love you, _exactly_ as you are. It's been Katherine that I've been in love with for five hundred years, and it'll be Katherine that I'll love for the rest of eternity. But Katerina is the root of your strength. A part of you that will always be there, no matter how much you try to hide her. And you can have my blood to turn back and I won't try to stop you. But giving you my blood is because I want an eternity to fight for you and I don't want you to die. It's not because I owe you or because I am in your debt. I'll do it because I love you."

"Don't make a big deal about this," she asked.

"But you... you are a 'big deal' for me," he said. "I do want an eternity with you and all of your complications. I intend to spend as much of your next eternity necassary begging you for a third chance." He rolled up his sleeve and bit into his wrist, holding it out for her.

She paused for a second before taking it and drinking his blood, before it healed. His blood had tasted so good when they blood-shared when she was a vampire, but as a human, it was not as great. He held back her hair when she drank and kissed her cheek before snapping her neck.

* * *

 **Don't consider that Katherine's forgiveness. He's still going to have to work for it with Kat as a vampire again.**

 **Please leave a review! I love to hear from you. -Izzy**


	12. Chapter 12

**Good news! I'm out of school for six weeks thanks to SUMMER! That means I'll probably get bored very easily and update faster + have more time for writing and editing = Longer (possibly) and better quality chapters coming to you faster. Probably shouldn't bet on it though.  
**

 **Okay, so thought I'd note that Katherine is not going to forgive Elijah straight away but she is going to let him have the oppurtunity to fight for that forgiveness (Which is more than he deserves in my opinion).  
**

 **Hope you all have a lovely day, Bless you all! -Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter TWELVE**

 **Monday 25/09**

 **10:01am**

 **Upper-East Side, New York**

Katherine was unable to put into words just how incredible Vampirism felt after so long. When she had it, she had taken it for granted, but now, she was cherishing every second her fangs were out. She finished draining her third dead body before throwing the man into a heap with the other two. She loved man-hunting, so it was great to find three, really gorgeous ones. It didn't feel right bringing them home for the _other_ reason when Elijah was in the other room.

He walked in to the living room, shortly after Katherine threw the third body aside. "Hungry, are we?" he asked, surveying the bodies before whipping out a handkerchief, in that sexy way he did, and handing it to her.

She took it and wiped the blood from around her mouth with it. "I'm celebrating," she shrugged. "I forgot how good human blood tasted." She finished wiping her face, but he took the handkerchief to wipe away a spot she had missed.

"I'm glad you're happy," he said, throwing the handkerchief to the side. She felt her vampire face slowly retract. "What time are we expecting the witch, Mary, is it, to call?"

"7pm," she said. "When she finds the location of the hunter, what happens next?"

He shrugged. "I'll probably tell Niklaus and he will go and look for him/her."

"And what about us?" Katherine asked, pointing from Elijah to herself and back again. "You can't stay away from Finn forever. It sounds like he really needs you."

Elijah nodded. "I know. I should go back. But I don't want to leave you again, so I'll return as soon as this Hunter problem is solved."

Katherine paused. "I could just... pack a bag and come with you."

He looked her in the eye, serious all of a sudden. "You agree? To return home with me?"

She paused, sucking her teeth. "As much as I hate to admit it we do have 500 years worth of history... I'm not going to give up on us out of stubbornness." He looked shocked, an expression, like all, that was rarely ever on his face. "I'm not forgiving you and trust me Elijah, we are still far from okay. We still have things we need to sought out, and we can't do that unless we're together. I'll pack tonight and we'll leave in the morning, after the spell."

He nodded. "I'll drive," he said.

 **Monday 25/09**

 **10:30am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

The curse only got worse. It was estimated that the sufferer would try to commit suicide within the first day, but with everyone watching him, Finn didn't exactly have the chance to. The hallucinations weren't just of Esther and the hunter anymore. They were his father, asking why he never did anything to help Niklaus; Henrik, asking why he let him go to see the wolves with Klaus and why they should have bought Finn back instead of him; all of his siblings as children, asking why he tried to kill them. Along with everyone he had ever killed, which was a lot, but still a much shorter list than his siblings, it was completely unbearable. At one point, he had tried to find the white-oak-stake, only to discover that his siblings had hidden it without telling him. He had then been patronized by Kol who asked if he was looking for something.

Other than that, he stayed in his room, enchanted locks keeping him in there. Caroline was usually the one to bring him whatever animals she could find, which actually made him laugh. The way she would crack the door open to lead a goat in on a leash before closing it again as if he was some feral beast.

However, the night before, Caroline hadn't properly locked his door and he got out to the rest of the house. He had ripped open the neck of a maid and drank until she died. Rebekah found him and ordered the other staff to clear the maid up before taking him back upstairs and comforting him when he felt remorse.

Although, all he could hear was little Rebekah, a hallucination of her when she was eight, saying "That was a person. You killed her. I bet it hurt. Why did you hurt her? Did you like killing her?" Rebekah always asked a lot of questions as a child.

Klaus kept him up to speed about everything that was happening to try and help him. About Elijah and Katherine Pierce talking to the witch who was going to track down the next potential Hunter.

It was transparent that everyone was trying not to be condescending toward him, but he knew they all saw him as crazy. And he was, for the time being, anyway. He couldn't take a shower without the water turning to blood and _Killer_ being written on his mirror in red.

He sat in his room, curled up and leaning against the wall when the door opened and Mikael, of all people, walked in. "You disgrace of a man," he snarled, starting towards him. "You'll kill to save your brother, but when Niklaus needed you, all you did was stand by as I beat him black and blue. You hate your siblings. You tried to kill-"

"Shut up," Finn growled, his fangs exposing themselves, the veins around his eyes becoming noticeable, going full vampire face as he shoved Mikael against the wall and glaring at him.

"Whoa, Finn, calm down," Mikael said, trying to hold his hands up to in a peaceful gesture, but Finn kept him down. "This isn't real!" he said. "I'm not whoever you think I am! Finn, it's Caroline! It's me, Caroline! I'm your friend. Finn, you're hurting me!"

The hallucination was washed away and Finn stepped away from Caroline, who he had pinned against the wall. "I apologize," he said, shaking his head. "This damned curse. I thought you were somebody else."

"Who?" she asked, closing the door and sitting on the edge of his bed.

He paused. "What's that smell?"

"Oh, this," she said, holding up the blood-bag in her hand. "The forest seems strangely empty today and I didn't want to kill anyone's cat, do I came in here to ask if blood-bags will be okay?"

"It'll be fine," he said. "Nobody was killed to get them, right?"

She nodded, handing it to him. "So, what bitch of a hallucination's got you down this time?"

"Mikael," Finn said. Using the tube of the blood-bag as a straw as he drank.

"You're father?" Caroline asked. "How is he playing on your guilty-conscience?"

Finn was silent until he finished the blood-bag, throwing the empty plastic in the wicker bin when he was done. "Growing up, Mikael was incredibly abusive toward Niklaus and I didn't do anything to stop him. I allowed my brother's torturous childhood to unfold. Where are my siblings today?"

"Kol and Klaus are out arranging a private jet for wherever Katherine's lead takes them," Caroline said. "Rebekah's going to be staying home with me to look after you. I heard about Mikael's abuse before. Not a lot. So how bad was Mikael? Other than the whole 'killing you' thing?"

"He would just... too harshly punish Niklaus for the smallest of things," he said. "He beat him... whipped him with his belt. He cut of the head of Klaus' horse once."

She nodded. "He told me that story. My dad was no picnic, either. I mean... I loved him, so much, because he was my dad. But he was a vampire hunter, so... we had a bit of a problem. He wanted to change my nature instead of killing me. He wanted me to relate human blood with pain from the sun without my ring, so he hurt me for hours in hopes that the human blood wouldn't make me hungry anymore."

"Did it work?" Finn asked.

She shrugged. "Sometimes. If it's the middle of the night, and nobody's around. Sometimes I'll go and find a blood-bag for a midnight snack and it'll be dark and... I guess nobody really knows how much it affected me. That it still affects me. You can never really move on from something like that. A parent hurting you like that when they're supposed to care for you. I'm not trying to draw the attention to myself or anything... I'm just trying to tell you... I can relate."

Finn paused. "Did you ever forgive your father?"

"Yeah, I did," she said. "He d-died, not long after. He had vampire blood in his system when he died and he... didn't... he didn't want to be a monster like me."

He shook his head. "You're not a monster, Caroline... you should go. Before I see you as somebody else."

She nodded, getting up and going to the door. "I'll bring you some more blood later, and maybe some tequila to drink away your sorrows. And hey, if you ever need a friend, I'm here for you. Like, if you want to talk."

He nodded. "Thank you, Caroline."

"No problem."

 **Monday 25/09**

 **11:55am**

 **Wren's Apartment**

Rebekah was considering it a sign of trust. Wren had decided to invite her into his apartment and told her to come around at Noon for lunch so they could talk about them further. Five minutes early she knocked on the door. She heard a muttered cuss word from inside before the door swung open and Wren looked at her and pathetically tried to smile.

He was wearing an apron over his pyjama's and had food all down his face and apron and was holding a wooden spoon awkwardly. Rebekah, on the other hand, looked fabulous in a short black skirt and loose white tank-top, her bare legs out and on display trapped in killer heels, yet she was still shorter than him with bare-feet.

"Hi," she said, looking him up and down in confusion.

He shrugged. "I was trying to cook," he said. "Turns out I can't."

She nodded slowly. "I can tell."

There was a short pause. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said, backing away from the door, gesturing her inside. "Rebekah Mikaelson, you are officially welcome in my home."

She smiled, stepping inside. It was a very small apartment, the attic of his building, in a sense. It had sloped wooden ceilings and the wooden walls were decorated with vintage posters. There was a leather couch before a low, wooden coffee table with two armchairs on the otherside. The kitchen was next to the front door and was like the corner of the living room. It was, like Wren's apron, covered in food, in different doughs and meats and vegetables that she couldn't help but snigger, wondering what he had been cooking. There was no door seperating his bedroom – or wall for that matter. There was a small podium across the room to the right of the door with a double bed with messy dark grey sheets on. There were four doors in total leading off the main part of the apartment. One closed on to her left, one open one that lead to a bathroom on the wall about 15 feet to her right. Across from the front door, past the coffee table was a set of double doors leading onto a small balcony with the blinds pulled past the windows.

"Nice place," she commented.

"I bet it's the size of a broom closet at your house," he said, shrugging.

She nodded. "It's cosy though. It has a homely feel."

He smiled at her. "I was trying to make pasties... but I think we better order take-out."

"That's probably a good idea," she said.

He nodded. "I'm just going to go and get changed. Why don't you order? On the back of the front door is a list of take-out places, why don't you pick your favourite? I trust you to order for me." She nodded as he collected some clothes from the end of his bed and popped into the bathroom.

Behind the door there was a clipboard with a list of take-out resaurants with notes of their usual orders from each and a post-it note with dietry needs. She took her phone out her pocket and dialled the number of a Chinese place not too far from his apartment, reading his usual order off the clipboard and picking something for herself. When she hang up she sat, awkwardly on the couch until her came out, wearing black jeans and a red plaid short with a black waistcoat.

"Do you always wear waistcoats?" she asked as he noticed her on the couch.

He shrugged. "Not always. They're smart so I usually I do for work. And special occasions like a date with you." She couldn't help but smile. "So what did you order?" he asked.

"Chinese," she said. "I got you the Shanghai Noodle. The clipboard said it was your favourite."

"It is," he said, sitting next to her on the couch and looking nervously over at the kitchen. "Debating whether or not to clean that up now. I would leave it as long as you're okay with a little mess? I just don't want to spend the whole time cleaning, you see."

"I don't mind the mess," she said. "You can sought it out when I leave. What shall we do?"

He shrugged. "Do you want to watch a movie? I have a huge vintage collection of films, mostly central around the '30's and '40's. What do you say?"

"I missed out on those decades," she told him. "Klaus had used on of those daggers on me from the twenties to a couple years ago. The arse he is. I would love to catch up on what kind of era's I missed."

"Great," Wren said, hopping to his feet. "Ever heard of Hitchcock? Best director of all time."

He picked out a black and white movie in the form of a movie cassette, which even she knew was old, and pushed it into his large T.V box which was also out of date. "I find something particularly strange about you, Wren. You are all about the old fashioned things. Even me. Am I some... elderly fetish of yours?"

He sniggered. "Nah, I just like vintage things. It's all very artistic."

"Even this," Rebekah said, noticing a type-writer being used as a paperweight on a stack of bills on the coffee table.

Wren nodded. "Yeah, that's a collectable. Part time writer, single father, English teacher, vampire slayer."

Rebekah nodded. "That reminds me of a History teacher a friend of mine had a couple years ago. Anyway, write anything I might have seen?"

"I'm not published yet, but I'm getting there," he said.

Their food arrived shortly after and the two of them curled up on the couch. Rebekah's mind managed to drift from her troubles, from Finn and Klaus and Elijah and the drama of her everyday life, and concentrate on the sexy, vintage, artistic, cultural writer with his arm around her.

 **Monday 25/09**

 **23:46pm**

 **Katherine's Car**

Vampirism was almost perfect, except from the small fact that she still had to sleep. She certainly didn't want to, not with Elijah driving her at full speed to New Orleans, the home of his homicidal brother who had been out for her head for over five hundred years.

The ride was very silent. Elijah had, so far, driven the whole time, with Katherine leaning against the window of the passengers seat. She had not said that they were now a couple again. She knew better than to want that. He would have to fight for it, hard, but he couldn't make it up to her if she was away.

He had called home earlier and told his siblings that the next potential hunter was in Bristol, England and Kol and Klaus would be travelling there soon.

She wondered what would happen when they got there. Katherine had heard Elijah on the phone with his sister, earlier, who seemed proud of him when he told her Katherine was coming home with him, so they all knew. Rebekah seemed to just want Elijah's happiness, which Katherine was not ready to hand over yet. Maybe she should be afraid of Rebekah. Then, of course, Klaus may have changed his mind and decapitate her as soon as she walked in.

"Don't be frightened," he said, calmly seeing her expression. "Trust me, I won't let any of them hurt you."

She shrugged. "You don't know that. Klaus is... unpredictable to say the least. He could always change his mind. A one thousand year old grudge does not wash away because some blonde, baby-vampire's got him all mooney-eyed."

"No, a grudge held for that long would not simply vanish," he agreed. "But I've loved you for just as long. I wouldn't put you in any danger. I can handle Niklaus is he turns. Besides, I have Kol and Rebekah on my side. Hopefully. Finn's a little... out-of-action."

She paused before shaking her head. "What if Rebekah turns as well? Allow me to be nervous, Elijah, I have good reason to be."

He paused. "How long have you been awake?"

"I barely get any sleep, these days," she said. "Mostly to do with the whole... 'terrified human' thing. I guess that doesn't apply anymore, which is awesome."

"You should get some rest," he said.

She shook her head. "You've been driving for hours. Are you sure you don't want me to take over for a little while?"

"Did I imply that with what I just said?" he asked, sarcastically. "Go to sleep, Katerina. I'll wake you in a few hours."

"I'm fine," she said. "Really."

 **Tuesday 26/09**

 **01:02am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn stood up, shortly after Rebekah delivered him another blood bag. He had drained it and started pacing his room. From what he had gathered, Klaus and Kol were heading to England the next day, knowing the location of the next Hunter. As soon as he/she killed their first vampire, that damned curse would be over.

"I wonder if you'll regret being a killer when the curse is gone," the hunter he had killed, Minnie, said, perching on the edge of his bed. "Or if you'll do the monstrous thing and feel no remorse."

"I feel bad!" Finn exclaimed. "I will never stop feeling bad for the people I have hurt-"

"Hurt?" she sighed. "Killed, Finn. I wish you _just hurt_ me."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Really, I am. I am so sorry. But there's nothing I can do-"

"Well, that's not exactly true, now, is it?" said another voice on his other side. "You know what needs to be done to make this right. Or, at least to prevent any other homicides on your behalf."

"Esther," he whispered. "I... I don't know how-"

"You know how," Mikael said, from behind him. He sounded, not angry, but supportive and gentle, a tone he had never shown before. "End this, boy, before it goes too far. Use the white-oak-stake."

"I don't know where it is-"

"But we do," said ten-year-old Niklaus from next to him. He had a black eye and a cut lip, like he often did when Mikael was through with him. "We'll show you."

"The door's unlocked," Minnie said, standing up and walking over to it. Finn walked toward her and pulled the door open.

"Let's go," Esther said, sharply. "Before everyone wakes up." The four of them marched him down the hallway and downstairs into the kitchen. "I think you're even worse than your siblings," Esther was saying. "At least, they know they're evil."

"I know I'm evil," Finn said.

"Good," Mikael said. "That will make this so much easier. In the garden."

Finn pulled aside the French Doors and stepped into the extravagant gardens of the mansion. Minnie lead them over to a large willow tree. "It's a hollow trunk," she said. "Take a look inside."

Finn reached into the trunk and fumbled about until he found the white-oak-stake. He pulled it out and looked at it. So, Niklaus's hiding places were not extremely clever after all. In fact, they hadn't changed since he was ten.

"You can do," Niklaus said, from beside him. "You should do it. End this, before it really begins."

Finn crouched down next to him. "Niklaus, you're one of my biggest regrets. I'm so, so sorry for not saving you from Mikael when you needed it. I may be a monster, but that started way before becoming a vampire. I should have been a better bigger brother."

"You were not the problem, Finn," said a light, feminine voice behind him. He had been expecting that voice since the curse began, and he feared it more than all others. He turned to look at her. She was stood there, in a black tank top and dark navy skinny jeans and boots. Her curly red hair fell, loosely, around her shoulders and she actually smiled at him. "Hey, Finn."

"Sage," he croaked, instantly feeling tears well up in his eyes. Suddenly, all other hallucinations were gone, and it was just Sage and him in the garden, facing eatchother.

She edged closer and covered the stake in his hands with her own. "Are you ready?" she asked.

He paused, before shaking his head, a tear falling down his face. "I was hoping... if I ever died, my siblings would have been saved first. I'm leaving them as monsters-"

"Forget them," Sage said. "Think about yourself for a second, Finn."

He shook his head. "I stopped caring about myself a long time ago."

"And you're selflessness is why I fell for you," she whispered, comfortingly. "But You've been corrupted. I know you had killed people then, when we first met... but Finn, that was an accident, even if it was cruel. This... you did this on purpose. You've become your worst fear. As bad as your siblings. It's time to end this, before it gets worse."

He shook his head, another tear dropping down his cheek. "I'm sorry, Sage. I never wanted to become this... I wanted to be a better person. For you! I love you. I didn't mean to become this person."

She reached up and caressed his cheek. "Finn. I was so, incredibly, in love with you. I thought you weren't the violations your siblings all were. I was right. You weren't. You were perfect. But then you died, Finn. I think... as much as I wanted your happiness, they shouldn't have bought you back. You were better off dead. I loved you, Finn, the way you were. Not the way you are."

He nodded, looking down. "I'm ready," he said.

"Good," she said, using his hands to turn the stake in his arms so it was pointed at his heart.

"Wait... Sage... are you a hallucination?" he asked. "Or are you a ghost?"

"Does it matter?" she asked. "I'm me. I'll always be me, even if you won't be you. On the count of three?"

He nodded. "Yes. One."

"Two," she whispered.

He looked into her eyes and gulped. On the Other Side, he could be with her. He was ready to die. "Thr-"

"Finn," he heard from behind him. He turned around to see Caroline, standing there in her pyjama's. "You found it."

"Found what?" he asked.

"The stake," she said. She walked towards him.

"DON'T," he shouted at her. "Caroline, don't. You can't stop me from doing this. I need to end this. I can't... I can't do this anymore."

"I know," she said, staying exactly where she was. "Really, I know. My father hated me, I always used to come after my mother's job on her list of priorities, and I was always everyone's second or third favorite next to Bonnie and Elena. I know what it feels like thinking you can't go on anymore."

Finn's grip on the stake tightened. "You don't know-"

"Yeah, I do," she said. "Because I've killed, too. A man at a carnival, before I even really knew what I was. Two cops who were going to kill the Salvatore brothers with my mother. Twelve witches! Finn, I feel that guilt as well. But we can't let that guilt get the better of us. Just... please, Finn. Put down the stake."

"I can't," he said, shaking his head as he fell to his knees. Sage was no longer behind him. "I can't live with myself."

"I can live with you," she said. "I like living with you. You're my friend. I've lost so many people, Finn. Don't make me lose you, too."

"But... I can't even find my place in my own family-"

"You _couldn't_ find your place in your family," she corrected. "You went against them, remember? But you've come so far with your siblings. You've made so much progress. You've come so far as a person, don't go back! This ride is going to be wild. But nobody else here wants you to do this. Klaus, Kol, Rebekah and Elijah... All of them love you, Finn. So whatever you want to do to yourself... don't put your siblings through that. Not again! They've already lost you once, and Kol, and they'll never really get over Henrik. But they chose to bring you back instead of him. Don't take advantage of that. You owe it to them, not to yourself, to keep fighting. Please, Finn!" There was a long pause before Finn took the stake away from his heart and dropped it on the ground. Caroline ran forward and picked it up, before helping him to his feet.

She lead him inside and, not to his room, but to hers. She sat him on the bed and quickly went into the bathroom, before coming out and ordering him to take off his shirt. Numbly, he did so. Only then, did he realize, that he had actually pierced himself with the stake. Caroline washed away the blood from his hard, muscular, chest, although the wound had already heeled. She also cleaned away the tears down his face. She let him get back into his shirt before quickly running downstairs and bringing up Kol's entire stash of junk food. She then turned the television on opposite her bed and turned on _The Office_ on Netflix.

The two of them sat on Caroline's bed and relaxed. No more hallucinations came to Finn for the next few hours. He tried to find the jokes on the show amusing, and some he did, but it was just, generally, silly. Eventually, he fell asleep, his head on Caroline's shoulder, an entirely new friendship created.

 **Tuesday 26/09**

 **06:00am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Kol knocked on Finn's door before peering inside. His bed was not slept in and the room was empty of his presence. Kol, immediately, freaked out. Finn had escaped. Had he found the white-oak-stake? Had he hurt Klaus, or Rebekah or Caroline? Where was he now? Was it too late?

"Oh, he stayed in my room, last night," Caroline said, walking up to him. She was already dressed and ready for the day in a white t-shirt with a floral pattern tucked into high waist blue shorts and high-heeled sandals.

Kol felt his eyebrows rise into his hair as he looked at her. "He what?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing like that. He... I caught him trying to commit suicide last night," he voice had completely dropped in volume, "so I cleaned him up, convinced him to keep living and... I was just being a friend. Nothing _unfriendly_ happened."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Caroline," he said. "Finn is dangerous. If you had turned into a hallucination, he would have killed you!"

"I knew what I was doing," Caroline said. "He needed a friend."

Kol sighed. "A friend does what is best for a friend, darling. What is best for Finn is telling one of us so we can deal with it."

She shook her head. "You guys locked him up, which is helpful for the rest of us, but not for him. He needs safe company, and I'm the safest he can get. I'm the only one who can't hurt him. Anyway, have you seen Klaus? I really have to talk to him."

"He's in the kitchen," Kol said. "Be quick. We leave in ten minutes."

"I will," she promised. "I'll say goodbye to you after." She walked downstairs and stopped when she reached the kitchen door, pausing. Klaus was talking to Rebekah inside, she she decided not to interrupt. When they stopped saying goodbye, Rebekah walked out and Caroline walked in. Klaus looked up at her and his eyes widened. He was wearing skinny black jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscles. "I need to talk to you," she said. "Before you go."

He paused. They hadn't really seen eatchother since he told her that he would always love her, but they couldn't be together, for her safety and happiness. "What can I do for you, Caroline?"

She was hoping he would have called her 'Love' but okay. "I..." she didn't even know what to say. She just needed to talk to him. "How long are you going to be away for?" she asked, lamely.

"A few days, hopefully," he said. "We'll need the hunter to cooperate, and not be forced, so it may take a little longer."

 _Great. Don't look at any females while you're away!_ "Call me," she said. "Please? When you get there. Just so I... so I know you landed safely."

He paused, blinking at her. "I can't exactly not land safely, Caroline, I am The Hybrid, remember?"

She nodded. "I know, but... Just call me, okay? And do something touristy. You're going to Bristol, right? Drive across The Clifton Suspension Bridge and take a selfie."

"This trip isn't exactly a vacation," he said. "But I'll try to have fun."

"Great," she said, nodding. "Oh, one more thing. I um... I caught Finn trying to commit suicide, last night. He found the white-oak-stake." She took it out of her pocket as she spoke and handed it to him. "It might be best for you to take it to England, so he can't hurt himself while you're away. But... I was listening to what he was saying, before I stopped him. I feel kind of bad for that, but I thought he was in his room. I didn't realize he was outside and about to end his life. Anyway, he said something I thought you might be interested in."

"And what would that be?" he asked.

She took a deep breath. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this... He saw you. But... I don't think... I think it was a younger you. And he said that you was his biggest regret, and that he was sorry he didn't save you from Mikael when you needed it. He said he turned into a monster before he turned into a vampire. He should have been a better brother."

There was a long pause while Klaus dissected this. "What did - what do you know of my relationship with Mikael? Other than what I have shared with you."

"I know that when you were a kid, he was kind of an abusive asshole," she said. "I know he hurt you. If you ever want to talk about that then I think you'll find that I can relate more strongly than you think."

"You can't relate-" he started, angrily before she interrupted him.

"I think I can," she said. "You know nothing about my father, Klaus. You don't know how strongly I can relate."

He paused. "I'm sorry. What did your father do?"

She stumbled through the story of her father's vampire hatred and how he reacted to her Vampirism. "I've only really talked to Finn about this," she said. "Anyway, if you ever want to talk to me-"

"Maybe," he said. "When I get back. Caroline, promise me you won't do anything reckless while I'm away? I say promise, because I shouldn't have to compel you."

"I'll keep myself safe," she promised. He walked past her, but she turned and called out for him. He looked back and waited to her to say something. She swallowed. "I know you think you were doing the right thing... But letting me go was giving up on us. That's something I'm too strong to ever do."

"What are you saying?" he asked.

She paused. "I don't know. Just that... You chased me for so long. So I guess it's my turn to chase you." Then she turned away and left.

Klaus paused before leaving the kitchen and vampire running up to Finn's room. Finn had just gotten inside and was sat in his armchair, rubbing his temples. Klaus stormed in Finn stood up to greet him. "Caroline told me what you said," he started. "About Mikael. Finn, none of that was your fault. You couldn't have done anything. I don't blame you at all."

"Nik-" he started.

"You said it was your biggest regret," Klaus said. "If you tried to do anything, Mikael would have hurt you as well, and I would... That would have hurt me more. I'm leaving now. But Finn... I'm sorry I daggered you for so long. That is _my_ biggest regret."

There was a very long pause before Finn spoke. "Thank you."

"I'm going to save you, brother."

* * *

 **Let me know what you guys think of Wren and Rebekah. Is it something you're actually interested in or what?  
**

 **Reviews always make me so happy! Please write one! -Izzy**


	13. Chapter 13

**BOO! Early update! Okay, now that Kat is a vamp again, she is unfortunately going to have baby-vampire strength as that seems like the most logical option to me. But at least she's a vampire again. Julie Plague really ruined her by making her human and sad all the time.  
**

 ** _QUICK NOTE - please read_ : The new hunter, the one who needs to kill a vampire to save Finn, he is based almost entirely off a friend of mine, Kyle. Me and my friend literally sat down and role-played some of the scenes so I know what he would say in these situations. Please don't get mad because he is kind of "stereotypically gay", I don't mean it in a homophobic way.**

 **Hope you all have a lovely day, Bless you all! -Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter THIRTEEN**

 **Wednesday 27/09**

 **Noon**

 **The French Quarter**

"Thanks for meeting me," Rebekah said, sighing.

"That's no problem," Wren said, sitting down on the bench next to her. She didn't look at him or acknowledge him she just stared ahead. "May I ask why you called me so suddenly?"

She smirked at him, wearing a black waist-coat and tie over a red plaid shirt and grey jeans. His curly hair was neat and tidy and his turqious eyes were curiously admiring her. "I can't do this, Wren," she whispered.

There was a pause. "I know," he said. "I know how hard it looks-"

"Hard?" she said. "I'm an Original vampire, 1000 years old who's killed hundreds of innocent civilians... and you're a mystical vampire hunter who's destined to kill me. And you're human, so I'm made to kill you. You're a single father, a writer. It's not hard, Wren, it's impossible."

"Just because it's impossible doesn't mean we can't try," he said, taking her hand in his and kissing it, like he had done before.

She shook her head. "It's not just me, Wren," she said. "My brother tried to commit suicide because of you hunters. Trust me I've been betrayed by one before who claimed to _love_ me. At the end of the day you did try to turn me against my family-"

"We haven't seen the end of our day yet," he said. "Only the beginning. I want to see how this ends, and I refuse for it to be like this. Give us a chance, Rebekah. Please, one more chance is all I ask for."

"You're destined to kill me and I'm made to kill you," she said. "We don't have a chance. And I'm not going to be the girl who betrays her family for some hot writer with nice eyes." She didn't know whether she had overthought the relationship when she stayed up the night before with nothing to distract her other than the thought of Wren, or if he doubtful feelings were inevitably going ovetake the good feelings, but either way, she knew she couldn't be with him.

He smirked a little but the look was wiped off his face when she stood up. He held onto her hand tighter but his strength was nothing compared to her. "Don't do this," he pleaded.

She paused before pulling away and using her vampire speed to get out of there.

 **Wednesday 27/09**

 **15:28pm**

 **Bristol, England**

Bristol had always been one of Kol's Top Ten Favorite Cities around the world. The stereotype Bristol was slums, council estates, graffiti and idiotic, uneducated swines with shiny tracksuits and weird hair.

Then, of course, everyone knew it for the Avon River, the main port into England to export and import goods. People thought of the Suspension Bridge, and the S.S. Great Britain. And whilst those sights were incredible, Kol saw so much more. He had actually lived there during the Industrial Revolution, at the height of Bristol's manufacturing magic. He was awed but how it had evolved.

In Kols eyes, he saw fine restaurants, characteristic buildings and lovely people. The graffiti was artwork, pure artwork. Maybe not the fancy, posh artwork that hung in their mansion, and while that was nice, Kol thought the graffiti exploded with beauty and he adored the metaphors they represented. As Klaus and he rode in the back of a fancy, black BMW to Kol's old home in Bristol, he couldn't help but point out the works of art created by Banksy and tell Klaus about their true, inner meaning. Klaus thought he was crazy, but Kol was okay with that.

"This is _not_ a vacation, Kol," he said. "Remember what we're here for."

Kol rolled his eyes. "I know, Nik. We're here to find the hunter and save Finn. But we're going to be here for a while, so why can't I quickly enjoy the modernized version of my favorite city? It's not like I'm holding us back."

Klaus paused. "I should apologize. For keeping you in a box, on and off for the past thousand years. I hated doing it."

"So why did you?" Kol said after a pause, extremely confused by the sudden deepness of the conversation.

Klaus didn't say anything as the driver pulled up outside of the house. Klaus and Kol got out of the car and looked up at it. It had barely changed since Kol had been there in the eighteen hundreds. It had been preserved and kept by order of himself for such situations like this. Kol ordered the guards to carry their bags inside. Another guard opened the door for him and bowed them inside.

"Didn't all of your vampire minions become released from your compulsion when you were daggered?" Klaus asked.

"I've re-created a lot of vampire bitches since I came back to life a few weeks ago," he said. "What do you think I've been doing with my free time? I told them to come and tidy this place up a bit for our arrival." He turned to his minions. "Put my bags in the Master suit and my brother's in the nicest room in the South Wing." He turned back to Klaus. "The South the the nicest view of the gardens. Don't eat the staff while you're here. When do we meet the hunter?"

"An hour," Klaus said, looking around, impressed as they walked into the entrance hall. The white and black tiled floor was freshly polished, and every inch of the twelve pillar row was scrubbed down and delicately cleaned. The high ceiling and walls of the manor was also de-cobwebbed and tidied.

Kol went upstairs to his elaborate bedroom. It had been re-furnished by his vampires, with more stable furniture that was a lot like his old. Four poster bed, black sheets, thick carpet and fancy, hard oak wardrobe. His bags had been left on the bed. He pulled out his phone and quickly texted Rebekah that he was in Bristol. **In Bristol. Nik gave me a weird apology about daggering me. He said he hated doing it. I asked why he did it, but he didn't say. He's full of bullshit in my opinion. -Kol**

He waited for Rebekah to reply as he unpacked his clothes and books and overall belongings.

 **Wednesday 27/09**

 **16:30pm**

 **Bristol, England**

"Good Cop, Bad Cop?" Kol asked, as him and Klaus walked down the corridor of a fairly poor apartment building.

"Fine, you're Good Cop," he replied, shrugging.

Kol groaned. "I'm always Good Cop," he said. "I want to be Bad Cop. It's more my style."

"I'm evil as well, Kol," Klaus sighed, frustrated.

"Flip a coin?" he asked.

Klaus stopped and studdied his younger brother. "Fine. Heads I'm Bad Cop."

"Done," Kol laughed, taking a British pound out of his pocket and flipping it. It landed on Tails and Kol laughed. "I win."

Klaus rolled his eyes as he knocked on the door of the right apartment and they both stood there, waiting. When the door finally opened, the last thing they expected to see was standing there. He looked like a fairly normal guy. High cheekbones, tan skin and blue eyes. Klaus tried to help but notice faint traces of make up. He wore designer glasses in a dark, circular shape. The weird part was the dinosaur onezie he wore.

"Are you Sebastian Turner?" Kol asked, ignoring the onezie.

The guy, who could have been no older than early twenties, looked both brothers up and down and blushed. "Why, yes, I am," he smirked. "What can I do for you, boys?"

"Nice onezie," Klaus said, completely poker-faced.

"Klaus," Kol scolded. "Behave."

Sebastian looked over to Klaus. "Klaus? That's a hot name. Where are you from?"

Then Kol and Klaus looked at eatchother, placing yet another small detail. The new hunter had a quite vivid 'Gay Accent'. He was definitely American, and quite strongly, as well. His voice was quite feminine as well. Kol and Klaus were both Gay Rights supporters, and they knew that not all gay men were feminine, but it was quite interesting to see one that was. That being said, they couldn't prove he was gay, he could just be in touch with his feminine side. But he had called Klaus's name hot. Either way, it didn't matter to either of them. "Europe," Klaus replied. "This is my brother, Kol."

"Pleasure," he pouted. "What brings you to my humble abode?"

Kol looked toward Sebastian's left arm. It was blank, but it would be to anyone other than a hunter. "Nice tattoo," he said, pretending he could see it.

Sebastian's face dropped from flirty to serious. "You can see it?" he asked, his voice still accented.

"No," Kol said. "But I bet nobody else can, either. But we know it exists and that's why you should really invite us in to talk."

He paused. "Right, well I'm all about inviting hot guys into my place, but this tattoo thing is weird, so if you know of it, that probably means that you are as well."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, mate, but you're the one wearing the dinosaur," Klaus said.

Sebastian scoffed. "This thing is adorable," he argued. "I look ten years younger, over here. And it's super comfy. G-T-F-O."

"Look," Kol said, seizing the reigns of the conversation, somehow becoming the Good Cop. "We want to help you. You should really let us. Trust me, we know what we're talking about. I promise we won't hurt you."

"Yet," Klaus whispered, only audible for Kol to hear.

"We can't tell him that," Kol replied, too quiet for Sebastian to hear.

Klaus paused before turning to Sebastian. "Like my brother said, we wish to help you. You need to know the truth about what you are."

The hunter paused. "Come in."

 **Wednesday 27/09**

 **17:07pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Elijah pulled the car up in the courtyard and parked it. He paused before looking over at Katherine who was staring out the front window, her face completely blank. He begun to speak but she interrupted him. "I'm still afraid," she said.

"I understand that," he replied. "I would be, if I were in your position."

She looked over at him. "You told me to trust you," she said. "I'm really trying to, but... I have no reason to. So, in my mind I'm taking aa huge risk for one man. I hope you understand what you must mean to me because... I don't."

He shook his head. "You're incredible Katerina. Are you ready?"

She shook her head. "That's not going to happen. Let's go anyway." He got out of the car and opened her door for her. She got out and looked up at the big house. He didn't have the chance to reach the boot before the first blonde came bouncing towards them. Caroline first pulled Katherine into a hug, which she returned. In the small time they spent in the dorm room together, they had become some sought of friends. Katherine wouldn't admit it, but she was really glad the baby vampire was there with her. She didn't know if she could have made it with just Elijah.

"I told you to call!" Caroline said, pulling apart from Katherine. "When you left, I told you not to be a stranger."

"I didn't have that much time on my hands," Katherine replied. "I missed you though!"

Caroline hugged her again. "And I, you. But so many people are trying to kill you. How was I supposed to know whether or not you were alive?"

Katherine sighed. "I'm a survivor. Have faith in me."

"Yeah, always," Caroline laughed, before moving past her and pulling Elijah into a brief hug. "Missed you, as well."

Elijah hugged her back, and Katherine was surprisingly not jealous of their intimacy. Usually she would have been. "I missed you as well, Caroline," Elijah said, actually smiling for once. When they parted, Caroline helped take some of Katherine's bags, and neither of them would allow her to carry her own stuff.

Inside the house, Katherine waited in the hallway as Caroline and Elijah took her stuff upstairs. It was kind of annoying, actually, having them do stuff for her, as if she was as incapable and needy as her doppelganger, but Elijah wanted to, so she let him. In the hallway though, she came across the second blonde of the day.

"Katherine," Rebekah pouted, as she strutted into the room.

Katherine sighed. "Rebekah," she said with equal amount of loathing.

She narrowed her eyes. "This is my house. If you mess anything up I will be forced to go against Elijah's happiness and-"

"And what?" Katherine asked. "Wasn't it you who told Elijah to drop his life here to chase after me? Was it not you who convinced him to bring me here?"

Rebekah smirked. "I want my brother to be happy for quite possibly, the first time in 1000 years and apparently you have a big part to play in that. However, the minute you cause trouble with the affect of Elijah's ever so slight annoyance I will have a free pass to rip your cold, empty heart out."

"How reassuring," Katherine said. "Because I'm so good at not annoying people."

Caroline came bouncing back downstairs. "Elijah's just saying hi to Finn," she said, meeting the two girls at the bottom. They could both be considered as two of her friends, which could get complicated as they kind of hated eatchother. "Are you two getting along?"

"As much as we can," Rebekah said. "I haven't killed her yet."

Caroline paused. "Well that's progress," she said seriously.

"I'm going to greet Elijah," Rebekah said, beginning to walk up the stairs. "See you later, Care."

"Later," Caroline said. "Come on, Kat." Caroline lead her up the stairs to her new room. It was a typical guest bedroom, with dark oak furniture and white carpets, walls and sheets. The white curtains were drawn back over a window with the sun shining through, slowly going down, making everything brighter. The first thing she had done as a vampire was have a witch pet of hers create her a new daylight bracelet. Elijah had turned her at night, so she had went out straight after. The bracelet she had chosen was patterned with diamonds and Lapis Lazuli crystals in silver fittings.

Katherine's bags were on the bed. She walked over to the window and looked down into the garden. It was beautiful. The huge garden was decorated with so many different flowers and bushes and trees. The sun was setting over the garden, which illuminated it. It was the perfect view.

"Do you remember-"

"Probably," Katherine interrupted Caroline, who rolled her eyes.

"Do you remember," she continued, "when we stayed up that one night, with a lot of junk food and planned to escape to New Orleans?"

"We were going to drive," Katherine said. "Me, during the day, and you during the night. You were going to sneak into the house while Klaus was away and surprise him with your presence."

"You were going to be completely naked," Caroline laughed, "in Elijah's bedroom when he got back with Hayley. I was going to barter for your freedom from Klaus, and we would both live happily ever after with our Mikaelsons."

Katherine paused. "Why didn't we go through with it again?"

"You were too angry with Elijah," Caroline said. "I was too... afraid, I guess, that I was interested in Klaus as a rebound from Tyler. But that's not true. I had a fling with Jesse, so I did the whole 'rebound' thing. It doesn't matter. We're both here now."

"I can't believe you actually went to New Orleans," Katherine laughed. "I thought you would never go through with it, especially without me with you. I missed you, Care-Bear."

"I missed you to, Kat," Caroline said. "God, there's so much I need to fill you in on. Can I help you unpack?"

"Are you going to organize my shoes alphabetically by designer?" Katherine asked, knowing Caroline too well.

"Definitely."

 **Wednesday 27/09**

 **17:07pm**

 **Sebastian's Flat**

Sebastian Turner only got weirder. His flat was decorated with normal taste, with plain colors, except from the fluffy red rug, yellow cushions and baby blue throws. His home was fairly normal, but he pushed the hood down on his onezie to reveal bright pink hair, styled very fashionably with a lot of different products. ABBA was playing from the speakers around his flat.

They had finished explaining about the world of supernatural beings, and he seemed to be taking it quite well. Kol had showed him his vampire face to prove about Vampirism, and Klaus had told him about Silas and the Brotherhood of the five.

"I think you should leave," he said, after a while, standing up to show them the door. He seemed serious for someone in a dinosaur onezie and pink hair.

Klaus sighed, before standing up as well. "You don't believe us."

"Of course I do," he said, his voice still adorably gay. "I knew about vampires already. My sister did some research on them a while ago. I thought she was crazy when she tried to convince me they were real, but then she found one. It killed her. I don't help vampires. I like to pretend they don't exist, so I think you should go."

Kol paused, before standing up to meet the other two and speaking. "We can't. We need your help."

"I don't care what you need," Sebastian said. "I need you both to leave."

"That's not happening," Klaus said. "You see, Hunter beats vampire, but Originals beat Hunter."

"What is an Original?" Sebastian asked.

Kol and Klaus both sat back down. "I'm so glad you asked," Kol said, launching into explanation about the differences between Originals and normal vampires. "I suggest you behave," he said when he finished.

"Don't patronize me," Sebastian said. "Why do you even need my help? If Originals are so powerful, then why would you need little old me?"

The two brothers looked at eatchother before Klaus started explaining Finn's situation and how Sebastian could fix it. The Hunter sat back down during the speech and put his feet up. "I'm sorry about your brother," he said. "Siblings in pain are hard to handle. But I lost my only one to your kind. My sister, Kasey, is dead. I can't help you with this."

Kol offered a solution. "How would you like to avenge your sister?" Kol asked.

"How?" Sebastian asked. "What do you mean?"

Klaus looked at Kol, understanding immediately. "You need to kill a vampire to save our brother. What if the vampire you killed was the one who hurt your sister?"

Sebastian paused. "I'm not a killer-"

"But this is a monster who killed your sister," Kol said. "It's not the same as killing an innocent."

Sebastian was quiet for a long time. "Give me some time to think."

Kol and Klaus both stood up. Kol reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen. He wrote his number down on a piece of paper for Sebastian. "Call me when you reach a decision."

Both brothers walked out of the apartment. "Are we actually giving him a choice?" Klaus asked.

"We need him to cooperate," Kol said. "The best way to do that is treat him as an equal."

 **Wednesday 27/09**

 **18:38pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah threw her dinner, a cute bartender guy, away from her lying potion on her bed onto the floor. He died from loss of blood and Rebekah relished in the stuffed, bloated feeling.

She had a fair amount to think about. Katherine Pierce was one of them. Rebekah didn't know whether or not to trust the bitch.

One the one hand, she was a cheating, lying, manipulative slut and Elijah could do better. She had insulted Rebekah's need for a fresh start, and made fun of her light hair color.

On the other hand, there were a lot of reasons to give her a chance.

For one: Elijah was in love with her, and he wanted her in his life, and Rebekah wanted him to be happy. He would be happy with her, so she should try to get along with her.

For another: she clearly loved Rebekah's brother. She risked her and Klaus in New Orleans to be with him, she had given the cure to him, and from the way she looked at him, her feelings for him was obvious. Maybe Elijah could do better, but Rebekah doubted he would ever find someone who looked at him like Katherine did. Who loved him like Katherine did.

For a third: Caroline and she liked eatchother. Caroline had clearly become friends with Rebekah, and Caroline was obviously not going to stop being friends with Katherine, so she should try to get along with her.

A another thing: she couldn't really remember Katherine doing anything particularly bad to her. All she did was steal the cure that Rebekah wanted, which would only have stuck her with a nasty, human life which she later decided she was better off without. The only reason they didn't actually like eatchother was that they were too alike for their own good. And, of course, Rebekah didn't want any of her brothers taken away from her. But if she could like Caroline, she could at least try with Katherine.

She got up from her bed and picked the dead human up by his neck. She dragged him down to the kitchen and opened the glass doors to throw him into the garbage. She dusted off her hands and went back inside to find Katherine taking a blood bag out of the fridge. "Am I allowed to eat these?" she asked.

"Knock yourself out," Rebekah said. "So... you're a vampire again. Guess the cure was kind of wasted."

Katherine straightened up and popped the blood bag open, using the tube as a straw to drink. "Oh yeah, you wanted it, didn't you? Shame about that."

"I realized I'm better off," Rebekah said, leaning against the kitchen island, facing Katherine, who was leaning against the worktop.

"See? What did I tell you?" she asked.

Rebekah pouted at her attitude, crossing her arms. "Don't patronize me, Katherine. I might just change my mind about letting you live."

"I'm not afraid of you," she said, quite honestly. "I know I should be, but you won't hurt me. Not if it meant upsetting Elijah. So go ahead. Pout and threaten me and cross your arms and whine and whine about how annoying I am. I couldn't be safer around you.

In a heartbeat Rebekah pinned Katherine to the wall of the kitchen by her neck and leaned her face in close. "I'm not co-dependant. If I want to do something, e.g killing you, I will and damn Elijah and his consequences."

Katherine choked her words out. "Fine," she said, squirming. "I'm so sorry for calling you a whiny, pouty baby," she said sarcastically.

Rebekah narrowed her eyes. "Good. I forgive you. Now, how about we try to get along? For your safety?"

"I don't particularly want you as my friend, Rebekah," Katherine hissed. "I have standards."

The Original shrugged, letting her fall to the ground. "I'm giving you a rare oppurtunity to get on my good side. I'm Elijah's sister, darling, I suggest you take it. How long are you staying?"

"As long as Elijah wants me," she answered, finishing the blood-bag and throwing it into the bin. "Why?"

"I'm wondering if I should even bother trying to get along with you," she said. "I don't see Elijah getting rid of you any time soon, so I guess you have to stay. But, listen to this, little girl. If you hurt him, at all, I will _destroy_ you."

Katherine shrugged. "I love him."

"So do I" Rebekah said. "For much longer than you have. "

Katherine thought. "I guess that's one thing in common. I suppose I can resist openly hating you. For his sake."

"For his sake," Rebekah agreed. "Now, I'm going out. If anyone need's me I'll be in the French Quarter."

Torrential rain, heavy winds and possible flooding. Thanks New Orleans! In the distance Rebekah heard thunder and saw the odd flash of lightning illuminating the sky. She sighed as she left the shop she was in to instantly get soaked. Even with her perfect, vampire vision it was hard to see through the heavy rain. She was about to take off with her vampire speed to get home faster when she heard a voice behind her. "Rebekah?!"

She turned to see Wren who was squinting through the rain at her, a broken umbrella above his head that really wasnt doing much. "Wren," she called, walking over to him. "What are you doing out in this? You'll catch something!"

"I was buying groceries when it started," he yelled over the sound of the rain and thunder. "I was going to call you."

"Why?" she asked. "I ended things remember?"

"Rebekah we didn't exactly have a decided upon 'thing' in the first place."

She rolled her eyes. She rearranged the bags in her hand so the things she had bought (compelled for herself) didn't get soaked by the rain. "For the record I was going to call you as well," she said. "To make sure you were okay in this weather."

"Really?" he asked. "Because I got the impression that you didn't care."

Rebekah scoffed, angrily. "Seriously? Just because I put my family first doesn't mean I don't _care_."

"Clearly not enough," he said, also angry. "Don't get angry at me, Rebekah. _You_ were the one who gave up on us, not me."

"I'm allowed to be pissed if you think I don't bloody care," she called. "You're such an arrogant bastard. Where do you get the nerve to talk to me like that?"

"I get it from my anger," he said. "Forgive me for being upset when you ended things."

"You can be upset all you like, just don't even begin to try to take it out on me," she yelled. "Just go, I don't want to talk to you right now."

They both started storming away from each other, Rebekah with her arms cross and Wren forcing himself to keep going. Damn Wren, thinking he knew her, thinking she would come around and be with him. Being confident enough to be angry with her... confident. He was confident around her. But not in a cocky way. No, he had not been arrogant. He had been comfortable around her. The way she had been around him when she went to his apartment and at Roseau... Comfortable. Not stressed or angry, she had been comfortable.

She turned to look at him, wet hair flicking onto her face as her head whipped around. She saw his silhouette in the rain, noticing how he had stopped walking and was looking at her, a few strands of his dark hair, usually so neat, falling over his face.

Without anymore communication they both dropped their shopping and ran at each other, Rebekah going as fast as a human would as he was only half a street away. When the reached each other his hands immediately cupped her face and hers met at the back of his neck and they were kissing in a hot, passionate way that was full of excitement.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think of Sebastian. He's a lot less annoying in real life than in writing. And his real name is Kyle. Again please don't think I'm homophobic for making him steroetypically gay. Am I too worried? I am, aren't I? I'm sorry.  
**

 **Reviews always make me so happy! Please write one! -Izzy**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi all!  
**

 **Don't actually have anything to sat right now. -Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter FOURTEEN**

 **Friday 29/09**

 **09:17am**

 **Wren's Apartment**

When Rebekah woke up, at first she didn't know where she was. But looking around, she recognized Wren's apartment with his bed on a platform in the living room. She giggled, remembering the night before as she slipped out of the thin, black-sheeted duvet.

She remembered the kiss in the rain, Wren picking her up and slamming her against a wall as he kissed her. They went back to his place, which wasn't far from where they were anyway. He lay her down on the bed and started kissing down her neck...

She was still in her underwear so she put his red plaid shirt over the top and shook out her blonde, sex-tousled hair. She walked, bare-foot over to the kitchen where she wrapped her arms around Wren's torso. The man stood at the stove, flipping a pancake in nothing but pyjama trousers.

He turned around, putting the pancake back on the stove, and leaned down to kiss her. "Where's Oliver, by the way?" she asked when he finished, knowing his son couldn't have been there the night before.

"He was staying at a friend's house all night," he said, putting an arm around her as he finished cooking the last pancake and added it to the pile. She noticed the breakfast and a guilty look appeared on her face.

"Wren, I can't stay for breakfast," she said. "My brother and the curse-"

"I get it," Wren interrupted her, smiling. "That's okay, really. Oliver will be back in about ten minutes, so I'll eat with him."

Rebekah's eyebrows furrowed together as she realized she probably should know something she didn't. "How old is he?"

"Five," Wren said.

"How old are you?" she asked, cocking her head curiously at him.

"Twenty-four," Wren laughed.

Rebekah nodded, giggling as she walked back over to the bed to collect her stuff. Wearing the same clothes as the night before. Brilliant. Especially considering they were still wet from the heavy rain the night before.

She picked her shoes up and brushed her hair with her fingers, before tidying the make-up that was left on her face from the day before. She slipped her shoes on and walked back to the kitchen. "Sorry I can't stay," she said as he walked over to her, kissing her again. "But one thing before I go."

"What's that?" he asked.

She breathed in through her teeth. "The Talk," she said. Wren groaned and her face fell. "I know, I know, it sucks. But just really quickly before I go. Two minutes."

He nodded. "Okay. You my girlfriend?"

"Yep, you my boyfriend?" she countered.

"Yep," he said, smiling. "We exclusive?"

"Yep," she nodded. "See, that wasn't terrible. One more thing, though... We're going to have to keep this a secret. Not from everyone... but my family can definitely not find out."

"Why not?" he asked. "They know I'm not still trying to kill them, right?"

She nodded. "I think so. But... Nik has a habbit of... disapproving some of my exes. And when Nik disapproves, Nik hurts. So for your safety, we better keep this quiet. Not to scare you or anything. M'kay, bye!"

 **Friday 29/09**

 **11:04am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn's curse had become almost manageable. Every hallucination he saw tried to convince him to find the white-oak-stake and kill himself, but he answered them all with: "I can't do that to my family."

They tried to convince him that his family was better off without him, but Elijah, Rebekah and Caroline all convinced him not to believe them. He knew Katherine, the doppelganger was in the house, but they hadn't yet met. Elijah seemed to be keeping her away from him for her own safety. Finn wasn't particularly interested in her, though. He was more focused on his newest hallucination. Henrik.

"Why did they choose you over me?" he would ask. "What makes you more worthy of life? What did I do? You tried to kill them!"

"That's not my fault," he said. "Their poor judgment isn't my fault."

"If I had been the one who got to live," he said, "I wouldn't have killed anybody. I would have cherished my life. I wouldn't be ruining everyone else's, like you are right now. Why didn't you stop me from getting killed in the first place?"

"I don't know," Finn said. "Believe me, I wish they had bought you back instead of me."

"You told mother that you felt bloody brilliant killing that person," Henrik said. "I wouldn't have felt that way. You are even more evil than the others. I thought we were the good ones."

He paused. "I thought so, too. But you know what? I'm not good. I'm evil. I loved killing that person. _Loved_ it!"

 **Friday 29/09**

 **Noon**

 **The Bear Pit, Bristol**

The Bear Pit was one of Klaus's favorite places in Bristol. It was a pit, in the middle of a roundabout in the city center, with four underground tunnels leading off it to stairs to get back on ground level. It had a statue of a bear on the edge, facing the busy road. The pit itself was full of market stalls. Klaus just found it interested.

It had been two days since their meeting with Sebastian, and he was getting frustrated by how little he called. So he used his Hybrid senses to track down his Hollister cologne. He spotted Sebastian over by a market, looking at a colorful, crochet blanket with multiple shopping bags in his hands, most of them Hollister; a pretty popular shop in Britain that sold the most fashionable style of clothes. Mostly beach stuff, actually.

He was wearing tight leather trousers and boots and a short sleeved, button down shirt that was blue with white spots and a black bow tie. Klaus made his way over to him and waited, patiently, behind him for him to turn around. When he did, he jumped. "Kol," he said. "Are you following me?" he asked as he pulled out his earplugs, ceasing Shakira's music.

"I'm Klaus," he corrected. "Good try though. I'm not following you, just looking for you. You didn't call my brother."

"I haven't come to a decision yet," he said, walking past Klaus to one of the tunnels, through the huge crowd in the bear pit. "Trust me, I've been thinking about it, but I haven't been hurrying, you know? Like, if you were going to kill me, you would have done it, right? Also, then you'd have the stupid curse, and have to find another hunter, and nobody would be able to save your brother, right? So my life is pretty safe. I'm not afraid of you."

"Maybe I can't kill you, Sebastian, but a little pain may hurry your cooperation," he said, walking next to him with his hands behind his back.

Sebastian just rolled his eyes. "Baby, then you'll know I definitely won't help you." Klaus smirked. He was beginning to like Sebastian. He kind of reminded him of a male, more flirty Caroline. "Do you want to get a drink, so we can talk about this?"

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Where would you suggest?"

"Primark isn't to far away," he said. "They have a Costa, and I need to check out their jeans section." Klaus remembered that Primark was everyone's favorite clothes shop in England, with their cheap but quality clothes. Costa was a coffee shop.

"Lead the way," Klaus said.

Sebastian did, and when they were in the tunnel, he handed Klaus some of his bags. "Hey, be a lamb and help me out with these with you're super-human strength," he asked. Klaus took some of his bags, sighing.

After the short walk to Primark, they sat down in the Costa and ordered some drinks. Klaus had a black coffee, and Sebastian, needing everything to be extravagant, had a hot chocolate with whipped cream, chocolate powder, chocolate sauce and a flake in with a small sprinkle of marshmallows. "God, this is so naughty," he said, when it arrived. Klaus didn't realize he was talking about the hot chocolate until he picked the flake out and bit some of it off. "I'm going to the gym later, so it should be fine."

Klaus sipped his coffee. "Look, Sebastian, I can try to convince you with every possible trick in my book to help save my brother, but at the end of the day, I already lost him once. I finally have him back, please don't let me lose him again. You know what it's like to lose a sibling. Would you put anyone through that?"

Sebastian eyed Klaus, warily. "Point taken, but don't bring my sister up again? Now, look over there." He pointed to a waiter in a tight black shirt who was looking at Sebastian. "You think he's gay?"

Klaus looked back over to Sebastian. "He seems attracted to you. Go for it."

"Do I look hot or not?" he asked, completely serious.

Klaus sighed, not knowing what to say. He had never been interested in a man romantically, so it was kind of hard to think about it. "You have cream on your lip, but you look fine."

"Good," he said. "The cream will make him look at my lips, wish me luck."

He got up to go and talk to the waiter, leaving Klaus alone. Kol walked over and sat down. "On a date, are we?" he teased.

"I think I'm getting through to him," Klaus said. "Hopefully we'll be back in New Orleans by the end of the week."

"Sure, after you take him jean shopping," Kol laughed. "Good luck with that, by the way. Oh, he looks happy."

Sebastian came back to the table, waving a piece of paper in his hand. "He gave me his number. His name's Brad. So cute. Oh, hey, Kol baby."

"Hey," Kol said. "I should go. You two have fun."

"Oh we will," Sebastian said, winking as Kol walked away. He turned back to Klaus, who was beginning to look very mildly scared. "Oh, calm yourself, I'm only playing. I don't like you that way. I mean, you're cute, but you're A) obviously straight and B) a Hybrid. Not my type, you know? I just need a shopping buddy. So come along, we have jeans to look at."

"What about Finn?" Klaus said.

"I said his name was Brad," Sebastian said, pointing over to the waiter.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "I mean my brother."

Sebastian paused. "I still need to think. I want to help your brother, but I can't trust you yet. Let me get to know Klaus Mikaelson, before I get to like him. Chop, chop, hop like a bunny. Let's go."

 **Friday 29/09**

 **13:27pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Elijah stood in Katherine's room as she collected a bunch of her stuff, which had somehow gotten scattered around the room already, and threw it all into a big, black leather hand bag. "I heard you and Rebekah were playing nice," he said. "Thank you, for that."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "She's your sister, and I'm going to be staying a while, so I might as well try to behave myself around her."

She was wearing a tight blue tank top that day. He loved her in blue. She grabbed a leather jacket off of the desk chair and shrugged it on. "I'm going out shopping," she said. "Do you want to come with me?"

"No, I have to watch Finn," he said as she walked past him. He did not turn to face her, though.

"Rebekah can do that," she said.

He shook his head, still not looking at her. "She watched him all day yesterday and if he... tries to hurt himself Caroline would not be strong enough to stop him."

"Okay then," she said. "I'll ask Caroline. _Maybe_ Rebekah if she's there." She picked her bag up off the bed and checked she had everything she needed in it.

"Do you want to do something tonight?" he asked. "We need to cover things that we can't talk about in the brief seconds we pass by each other in the corridor. We need to sit down and... talk. I cook something."

She smirked. "What time?"

"Seven," he suggested, a very faint trace of a smile on his face.

"Seven's good," she nodded.

Elijah followed her downstairs to the kitchen where she found Rebekah and Caroline sat on a couple of bar stool. Katherine turned to the two blondes. "Either of you two want to come out with me?"

"Okay, sure" Caroline said, standing up and beginning to look around for her own bag and jacket. Katherine looked over to Rebekah.

"Come on, Barbie, I'm trying to get along over here," Katherine sighed.

"Sure," Rebekah answered after a minute, standing up.

 **Friday 29/09**

 **15:38pm**

 **Sebastian's flat**

Sebastian prided himself on his taste of music. Beyoncé played as he worked out to Just Dance on his Wii Console in jogging trousersand a black tank top with a space design. He had intended on leaving for the gym but decided he was too lazy and anti-social to go back outside. Somebody knocked on his door and he sighed, stopping in the middle of a dance to go and answer it. "You're early," he said. "I told you to come at four."

"Apologies," Kol said, walking into his apartment, followed by Klaus. Sebastian turned the Wii off and sighed.

"Let me go and get changed," he said. "Be out in a second."

He went into his room, which was a lot more elaborate than the rest of his apartment. He had red silk bedsheets and a thousand throw pillows and clothes that was scattered all over his hardwood floor. He had a vanity table with several powders, pencils and products covering it. He changed into his new light blue skinny jeans and a rainbow t-shirt that he had bought for a gay-pride march. He kept his feet bare, proud of his orange toe nail polish.

Outside, Kol had a weird look on his face. "What is this music?"

"Beyoncé, Single Ladies," Sebastian said. "Do not judge Queen-B. Anyway, what did you Muffins want?"

"We need to know if you've made a decision," Klaus said. "Our brother gets worse and worse."

"We're getting desperate," Kol added.

Sebastian paused. "Look, if I'm being completely and utterly honest, I really want to help. I like you boys. You're cute. But you're still monsters, and while I would never wish the pain I went through with my sister on anybody, you Cupcakes aren't exactly anybody."

Klaus stepped forward. "We're getting desperate. He's already tried to kill himself. We're getting so desperate that we're on the verge of begging. We don't have much time, so can you just help us, and we'll talk about your morals later?"

Sebastian sighed. "Fine. Where are we going and when do we leave?"

"New Orleans," Kol said. "As soon as you finish packing."

 **Friday 29/09**

 **19:00pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Caroline had dragged Rebekah out to dinner to give Elijah and Katherine a little privacy. Finn was sleeping up stairs and he wasn't particularly interested. He was too occupied with the voices in his head. Elijah stood in the kitchen as Katherine wandered around the living room, exploring it for the first time, pressing a few buttons on a type-writer.

Their eyes met through the open doors, her gaze flirty and knowing and his gaze analyzing and studying. Like so many other looks they shared between them. She strutted into the kitchen behind him and looked over his shoulder. "You know, the only seven dishes you know how to make, you make better than anyone else."

He smiled, something she was beginning to wonder if he did with anyone else. "How unfortunate the limitations of my skill," he said, turning to her. He had discarded his blazer and tie and began rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt. Katherine wondered if he knew how sexy he looked when he did that. Was he doing that on purpose? She, in turn, had taken off her heels and most of her jewellary. They were both so used to each other that it was easy to dress more comfortably around each other.

"You know, I think coming here was so much easier with Klaus gone," she said, leaning against the counter he was working on. "When does he get back?"

"Must we spend the night discussing my brother?" he asked, grumpily.

"Yes," she said. "Not the entire night, but we're doing this to try and clear the air so we can have a somewhat fresh start. And Klaus is probably the biggest problem between us. Always has been."

Elijah nodded, pausing. "Okay. Let's talk."

Once the food was made they strangely forgot about chairs and sat, leaning against them on the floor, their food in their hands instead of the coffee table between them. Katherine told Elijah about how she was afraid things would be like when Klaus got home. Elijah understood that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just reassure her that everything was going to be okay and expect her to be okay with it. Elijah was the only person she would open up to, even if she was mad at him. They also talked about him leaving her, and his motivations the first time and why he wouldn't do it given the choice again.

At 01:00am Rebekah and Caroline returned home, both a little tipsy and found Elijah and Katherine sat on the floor with empty bowls of food on the coffee table, laughing and sharing inside jokes from before. Laughing was a rare thing to see come from either Katherine or Elijah so the two blonde crept upstairs as to not disturb them any further.

 **Sunday 01/10**

 **Noon**

 **New Orleans Airport**

The private jet landed after a lot of instruction and order, which only bored Rebekah. She waited a little while away, watching as the energy of the plane blew her hair back and around her face, getting in her eyes and lip gloss. There was a lot of hassle getting the stairs from the plane down, so that Klaus, Kol and the Hunter could climb out.

Rebekah raised her eyes when she noticed the Hunter. He had a small, black, top hat on top of perfectly styled, pink hair. He had short sleeved, button down, bright pink shirt with pastel green floral patterns running up and down it and tight, light blue jeans and white converse shoes. He noticeable had more luggage that Klaus and Kol put together, and both of her brothers were helping him carry zebra patterned suitcases.

"Rebekah, this is Sebastian," Kol said, when they reached her car. "Sebastian, this is our sister, Rebekah." The started loading more stuff than the trunk could carry into the trunk.

"Enchanté," he said. "You can call me Seb, everyone does."

"You're the Hunter?" she asked, fairly doubtfully.

He nodded. "I know, right? Like, I was so confused as well. But that tattoo doesn't lie. Even if it is a fugly little bitch." Rebekah looked to his hand, which he held up as in the middle of fanning himself. It was blank, but it would be to any person who was not a Hunter. "Anyway, I bet I'm the first gay Hunter," he said and gasped. "I should make a campaign! For all gay supernatural people."

"He's always like that," Klaus whispered to Rebekah, before climbing shotgun in her car. She went around to the drivers side and got in. Looking back at Seb and Kol, who was drowning in luggage in the back seat. "It was a piece of work trying to get him to come."

"Oh shush," Seb said. "I was going to come anyway. I have to go to a friends wedding on Thursday."

There was a pause as Rebekah drove out of the airport. "So why didn't you just come with us?"

"A) That's what she said," Seb said. "B) I wanted to see if you guys were trustworthy and if you were worth my help. I love playing hard-to-get."

Klaus shook the thought away from his head before turning to his sister, preparing a conversation that Sebastian could not be a part of. "How is Finn?"

She shrugged. "Mostly the same. You've only been gone a couple of days, remember? He's seeing Henrik a lot more. He thinks we should have bought Henrik back instead of him."

"I'm confused," Sebastian said. "Who's Henrik?"

"Don't worry about it," Kol said. "What about Elijah and his girl?"

Rebekah smirked. "Oh they're working through their issues. She seems to make him a lot happier. I don't care if you don't want to hear it, Nik. She just... does."

"Great," Klaus muttered.

"You're to leave her alone, Nik," Rebekah said. "If not for Elijah, for Caroline. They seem to be very good friends."

He rolled his eyes. "Got it. Has Caroline said anything about me?"

"Not recently," Rebekah said. Kol laughed.

 **Sunday 01/10**

 **Noon**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"This has happened all so fast," Caroline said. "I mean, you're turned one day. You're here the next and you and Elijah are going to be all better before you know it."

"You're boring me," Katherine said. She had finished draining her lunch, which was a blood bag that day, unfortunately.

"I'm just saying," Caroline said. "Knowing the speed of everything these past few days, Finn's problem is going to be solved by Wednesday, you and Elijah will be a couple again..."

"Want a bet?" Katherine said, standing up off the couch and walking over to her. "What about you and Klaus? Will he stop ignoring you to protect you"

Caroline gave her a dirty look. "I don't know. I'm certainly going to try and get in his good books again... I just have a feeling he's mad at me for something. You know... I have a plan. Or I'm developing one, anyway."

"Sounds interesting," Katherine said. "Proceed."

"Well..." Caroline asked, slightly whiny. "It's complicated, and frankly none of your business but... I'm going to turn the tables, let's just leave it at that."

"You're going to try and seduce Klaus?" Katherine asked before gasping. "No! Are you serious? Damn that's something I want to see. Did you tell him already?"

"Shut up," Caroline said. "I'm going to try anyway. Because I've decided something. I came to New Orleans for him. I... like him. And I feel free because I've finally excepted that. So yeah, I'm going to fight for him."

Introductions were... interesting, to say the least. Everybody was surprised by Sebastian's flamboyant personality and choice of style, and being Sebastian, he was trying to love everyone. But, the only person he really connected with, like everyone else, was Caroline.

"Oh my gosh," he said, almost as soon as he saw her. "Give me your eyes. No, seriously, those are the prettiest eyes I've ever seen in my entire life."

"You can have my eyes if I can have your hair," she replied, after greeting him with a hug. "Like, honestly, _cute_!"

"I'm Seb, by the way."

"Caroline," she laughed.

He made no effort to hide his checking Elijah out, and voiced an audible groan when Rebekah whispered, "He's straight."

"Why are all the good one's straight?" he sighed.

Rebekah and Caroline both turned to him with, "Are you kidding?" in unison. "All the good ones are gay."

Sebastian turned to the two of them. "All the good ones are fictional. By the way, this place is absolutely gorgeous. Where's my room?"

The reunion between Klaus and Katherine was a little less cheery. He found her in the living room, sitting on the couch, looking extremely bored. "Hello, little Katerina," he smirked.

"I'm not afraid of you," she said, plainly.

He smirked. "Yes you are, you're just to stubborn to show it," he said. "Shame. I was looking forward to seeing the fear in your eyes. It was such a sweet sight."

"Niklaus," said Elijah, waiting by the door.

"What?" he said, mildly angrily. "I didn't even touch her!"

Elijah rolled his eyes. Before he could say anything, Katherine interrupted him. "You don't have to swoop in whenever Klaus and I notice each other's existence," she said. "He's going to act like an ass no matter how much you scold him."

"I don't even need to be an ass," Klaus said. "Because deep down, past her walls, she's terrified at my every move." He moved his hand toward her and she flinched. He passed the motion off as a twitch, not even looking at her but having an eye-war with Elijah. "See?"

"Leave her alone, Niklaus," Elijah said. "It is getting childish the behaviour of yours."

"Can you not patronize me, Elijah?" he asked, throwing a hand, lazily, up in the air.

"If you're going to act like, how Katerina put it, an ass, I'm going to treat you like an ass," Elijah stated.

Klaus turned to Katherine and looked down at her, condescendingly. "Enjoy your stay here, Katerina. Disobey any of my rules and there will be punishments far beyond the naughty corner."

Kol strutted into the room. "Oh, you two and your constant shift from love to hate of this girl," he said, sitting next to Katherine. "Well, I haven't seen you for ages. How have you been?"

"Fine," she said, smiling at the youngest Mikaelson brother. "It's good to see you. Welcome back to life. I should have bought flowers or cake or something."

"Won't you be fun to have around?" he said. "I really have missed you and Elijah bickering about everything and anything. Anyway, I'm going to go and see Finn. I'll catch you later."

"Bye," she waved, before getting up as well and walking out.

When Klaus left to go into the kitchen, feeling a little famished after the trip, he bent over to dig out a blood bag from the fridge. He straightened up to see Caroline, who was right behind him. "You told me you would call," she said.

"I was busy," he said, popping the blood bag open and drinking from the tube.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Since when did you drink from blood-bags?"

"Since I just got back, and don't want to go out again to find someone alive," he said, sighing. "What do you want?"

"I want you to give me a reasonable explanation of why you didn't call," she demanded. "What were you doing in England that was so time-consuming you didn't have time to have a very short conversation?"

"I was looking for the hunter that could save my brother," he said, angrily.

"And that took you ninety-three hours, two minutes and 43 seconds exactly?" she growled, just as mad as he was.

He paused. "What?"

"That's exactly how much time in between you arriving in Bristol and returning back home," she said.

He paused again, confused. "I thought you were terrible at mathematics?"

She rolled her eyes. "I have a calculator on my phone," she said. "Does it matter? Look, Nik, you can think whatever you want, even if that includes the fact that I need 'protecting' from you, but that does not mean that you have to ignore me, completely!"

There was another pause. "Did you just call me 'Nik'?" he asked.

"My best friend is Rebekah," she justified. "She's rubbing off on me. I don't need to be shielded from you, so stop acting like I do!"

He sighed. "Caroline, I let you go for a reason. My affection for you has caused you nothing but pain. If I see fit to let you go, it is only because I want what's best for you, and that is not me."

"Maybe not," she said. "Maybe our lives clashing together will only cause us to fall down a destructive path that will lead to our inevitable deaths, but did you ever think, for a second, that I _chose_ it?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I didn't come to New Orleans because I had a mental break-down," she said. "I came because I wanted to see you!"

He paused, again. "Well, you wanting to see me, has got to be the equivalent to some sought of mental dysfunction."

Before he could walk out of the kitchen she hoisted herself up onto the counter and put her legs up on the kitchen island, blocking his path to the door. He happened to notice she was wearing a short, flimsy black skirt that barely came to the top of her long legs. He forced his eyes to meet hers and growled. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting," she said, innocently. Part of her skirt crept up her leg, revealing a lacy, black garter around her thigh, bringing Klaus's attention to that general area. If seduction was the only way to get him to stop ignoring her then she would use the only arrow in her quiver.

He tore his eyes away from her stocking back up to her. "Stop it," he ordered.

"I don't understand," she said. "Oh, do you have a problem with the way I dress?"

"No," he said, instantly. "You can dress however you want. But you can also stop trying to seduce me with-"

"With what?" she said, leaning down so he could see a taster of what she had to offer through the open buttons of her blouse. She saw his eyes flick over that general area and she held back a snigger. This was so Katherine Pierce of her. "What part of me do you find seducing, Nik?"

"Caroline don't," he said. "Don't... flaunt yourself to get my attention."

"Then don't make me have to," she whispered. "Stop ignoring me."

"I'm only doing what's best for you," he insisted, pushing her legs away like swining doors and walked past her without looking back.

 **Sunday 01/10**

 **22:55pm**

 **The French Quarter**

"What can I help you with, Sabina?" Elijah asked, coming to a halt in front of the witch, who was looking at him solemnly, as though she had been crying.

She smiled as he walked forward. "It's been a long time, Elijah," she said.

"My family and I have been quite busy over the last few weeks," he said, but she shook her head.

"That's not what I meant," she said, crossing her arms as she stepped towards him. "I mean... it's been a long time since I was able to talk freely with you. It's been a long time since we... talked."

Elijah narrowed his eyes. "Forgive me," he said. "But I don't recall us ever being particularly close."

She shook her head, coming to a halt three inches away from him. "Not in this body. But this isn't my real form. This isn't my real life. My real life, the real me, is with you."

"Sabina..." Elijah said.

She interrupted him, placing a hand on his chest and shaking her head. "Please, Elijah. Call me by my real name."

"And that would be?" he asked.

"Celeste," she croaked.

* * *

 **Okay so I stopped watching The Originals after nine episodes because I hated it, but I am proud of myself for sticking with it for that long. But I only stayed with it that long because my friend told me there was a Klaroline scene in episode 11. Liar. Anyway, I know almost nothing about Celeste so I'm making up my own Celeste sotryline here instead of sticking with canon just to add more drama.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **I also never replied to one review from** **daniellerae23 about Enzo being in this story. He will be mentioned and he will be in the sequel along with Bonnie, Sage, Matt and Stefan.**

 **All follows and favourites are very much appreciated and don't forget to review! Questions inspire me to update faster. -Izzy**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey, so this is a short, early update because it's 3am in the morning here and I'm really bored so...  
**

* * *

 **Chapter FIFTEEN**

 **New Orleans 1820**

 **Midnight**

Elijah ran as fast as a human would before jogging to a slow halt before Celeste. She turned to him and smiled. "Good evening, Elijah," she said in French as she curtseyed, lifting her heavy, golden skirts, her torso trapped in a corset.

"Good evening, my Queen," he replied in her native tongue, before lifting her chin to kiss him, wrapping his arms around her waist. She put her hands on his shoulders and smiled as they pulled apart. "I must apologize for my treacherous punctuality," he said. "I had to separate Niklaus and Rebekah before they slaughtered eatchother. Arguing about her latest affair, you see."

"Is it so impossible for your brother to allow poor Rebekah some form of happiness?" Celeste asked.

"Your concern for my sister's joy confuses me," he said. "I was under the impression that the two of you despised eatchother?"

Celeste paused before moving away from him, smiling and holding her hands behind her back. "I admit it to be true. But if I will be around your family, then I had hoped for a brighter future for Miss Mikaelsons and mine's relationship. I do intend to stay with you, Elijah. Always and Forever."

"I do believe that to be the problem with you and my sister," he said. "She wishes my attention to be all hers. But enough talk about my siblings. I missed you tonight."

"And I, you," she said. The two of them stood below a enormous willow tree which stood tall in the garden. Celeste stepped away to fiddle with one of the drapes. "The maid, Lucia, did seem to have an eye for you."

"Is Lucia the woman with orange hair?" he asked. "The one Niklaus favours for dinner?"

Celeste winced at the thought of his brother eating a person, being a witch, she hated the idea. Elijah had been trying the animal diet for her, but after while, he had insisted that he would not change for her, and promised he would heal all he fed from. Celeste nodded. "I do believe she has developed a fancy toward you."

Elijah resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She had a knack for pointing out women who might have been, even slightly, romantically interested in him. It was quite annoying. "But _you_ , my darling, are the only one _I_ fancy," he muttered. "And isn't that all that matters? Without my participation, her affection for me is fictional."

"Why, whatever do you mean?" Celeste asked.

"I mean that true love is not real unless it is returned," he said, gulping. Quoting her bought up emotions within he would rather not feel. Celeste knew about her. They had agreed to be honest about their past loves, and so Katerina was the only person he had told Celeste about. He had fancied Tatia, but that was nothing compared to how he had once felt for Katerina. He had made Celeste promise not to tell Niklaus about his affection for her. And he had conveniently forgotten to mention that his affection had not completely disappeared.

"Who said that?" Celeste asked. "Was it... her?"

"'Her' being...?"

She rolled her eyes. "Katerina. You looked sad when you said it. Like it rolled off of the lips of someone you once loved. Why would you quote _her_ at _me_?"

He paused. "She simply said something I agree with," he said.

"But you did not agree with it at the time?" she asked. "You told me you once believed not in love. Was it her who changed your mind? Or was it I?"

"Why must you always compare yourself to her?" he asked, resting his hands on her hips, at the beginning of her large collection of skirts. "It is you I am in love with. Let the past stay in the past. And let us look forward to our future. Together. Always and Forever."

 **Monday 02/10**

 **14:23pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"Anyone want to go out tonight?" Caroline asked.

"Where?" Rebekah asked.

They both sat in the living room on opposite couches, drinking a glass of wine. Caroline felt very sophisticated. Katherine was sat on the other side of Caroline's couch, pouring herself a second glass. Caroline was trying to force Rebekah and Katherine to become friends and that meant conversation. It was kind of awkward at first, with them trying not to argue but finding something to bicker about at every word. But the two girls were trying and that was something. "I need to buy sexier underwear," Caroline pouted, lost in thought, swirling her finger around the edge of her wine glass.

"Why?" Rebekah asked.

"To seduce your brother," Caroline said, mentally coming back to the room. She looked over at Rebekah. "I'm feeling particularly evil and if I'm going to get Klaus to pay attention to my existence and quit being the good guy at the least oppurtune times then I better do it right."

Rebekah grew a disgusted look on her face. "Okay, I'm just not going to pay attention. Whatever makes you happy."

"Role revearsal really does make me happy," Caroline said. "I mean, it's weird, being on the chasing side of our... parrelell lines relationship."

"Parralell lines?" Katherine asked, cocking her head as she sipped her wine, confused about Caroline's metaphore.

"Yeah, I mean... we're always there, you know? Always looking over at each other, but we're never together. And either Klaus takes a sharp turn and develops into a good person, or I go bad, as bad as he is, or we meet somewhere in the middle or we'll never be able to be together."

"That is deep," Rebekah said, taking the wine from Katherine and filling her own glass. "Well, I'm all up for going out, but not underwear shopping for my brother's entertainment. What about a movie or something?"

"Or a club," Katherine suggested. "I haven't really been out for ages."

The three got up and walked out into the hall, Rebekah and Katherine still bickering over what to do that night. Over by the front door, Elijah was just walking in from outside. Katherine noticed him before turning back and walking back into the living room. Caroline gave Elijah and funny look before turning and following her to make sure she was all right. Elijah just shrugged at Rebekah's questioning look. "Every time she opens up to someone she has to close herself off for the next few days which is nothing but irritating."

"Oh, right," Rebekah said. "I can understand that, I've done it before. She's just afraid that she'll leak to much and you'll hurt her. I'm sure she'll get over it."

"Yes, well the sooner the better, really," he said. "I really need to talk to her about something." He walked past Rebekah to close the door to the living room, cutting him and his sister off from the two baby vampires. "And you."

"What's up?" Rebekah asked.

Elijah and Rebekah stood outside the living room, Rebekah looking angry as Elijah finished telling her about his meeting with Sabina last night. She had proved her title as his ex-lover by allowing him into her thoughts. He saw his own memories from Celeste's point of view. "So, what are you going to do?" Rebekah asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I mean, she lead me to believe that she was dead for centuries."

"Well do you still have feelings for her?" Rebekah asked.

He shrugged. "I... I don't know."

Rebekah sighed. "Well, what did she want to do?" Elijah raised an eyebrow at her until Rebekah understood. "Oh. Well... did you?"

"Of course I didn't," he said. "She allowed me to mourn her death. Besides, I had just left Katerina here after discussing what we wanted to do with the charred remaints of what we once called a relationship."

" _Once_ ," Rebekah pointed out. "Technically you're still single. Look, I don't like Katherine or Celeste so I'm not going to be taking sides, you can do whatever you want. Just... If you want to punish Celeste for leaving you don't go wild with it. You did love this girl once."

They heard a groan of pain from upstairs. They both used their vampire speed to reach Finn's room, where he was doing the thing closest to suicide that he could. The hallucinations must have told him to punish himself. They snatched the sharp, wooden objects out of his hands and Rebekah threw them out of the window. Elijah crouched down next to Finn and put his arm around his older brother's shoulders. "This is not the way," he said in his ear.

 **Monday 02/10**

 **15:24pm**

 **Wren's Apartment**

Rebekah had abandoned her argument with Katherine, Club or Movie, and let the brunnette win as she had better places to be than fight with her. Everyone had noticed her 'Walk of Shame' the morning before but they all just assumed they were a one-night stand and not an actual relationship. Rebekah walked the the corridoor outside Wren's apartment with two coffee's in her hand and opened the front door of his apartment which she knew would be unlocked.

"Hey, Babe," she said, walking into the apartment but what greeted her made her stop in her tracks and allow her face to fall.

"Hello," said a small child standing about two feet away from her.

"Hi," Rebekah said. It had been... well over two centuries, at least, since she had interacted with a child so young and that had been when she visited a friend of hers who was taking their child to a workhouse.

"I'm, er," Wren said from the other side of the apartment, sitting by the coffee table and a large lego set, "guessing you didn't get my voicemail?"

"No, but thank you for trying to warn me anyway," she said, trying to remain smiling. "I just visited with coffee to say hey. And to tell you the new Hunter's in town."

Wren nodded, standing up and walking over to Oliver who was staring at Rebekah, really unnervingly. "Oliver," Wren said, crouching down next to his son. "This is Rebekah."

"Nice to meet you," Oliver said, thrusting his hand out to Rebekah.

She saw instant similarities between Wren and Oliver, including the turquoise eyes and black curly hair. But Oliver had a rounder face and smaller cheekbones. "It's very nice to meet you too, Oliver," Rebekah said, bending over to shake his hand.

"Hey, Olly, why don't you finish building the tower for the castle," Wren suggested, directing his son back over to the coffee table so he could talk to Rebekah. "Didn't expect you to meet him like that," he said. "You know, out of the blue. Surprise, there's my son."

Rebekah nodded. "Yeah I never actually thought about it at all, to be honest," she said, awkwardly. "Well, I should go-"

"No, stay," Wren said, taking hold of her hand. "You should get to know Oliver, anyway."

"Come check out my castle," Oliver called from the coffee table.

Wren, completely poker-faced, gestured enthusiastically toward his son as if he was proof that Rebekah should stay. "Um, sure," she said. "Okay. As long as you're okay with that."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Wren asked.

Rebekah shrugged. "You got to be the first vampire-hunter to allow an Original near his son," she said.

Wren sniggered, cupping Rebekah's face as he kissed her forhead. "I don't care that you're a vampire," he said, smiling. "I trust you and I want you to meet my son. Now, come on, let's go build a castle."

 **Monday 02/10**

 **19:14pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

After Finn fell asleep Rebekah went back into her own room and collapsed on her bed. Before long Klaus came in and sat beside her. "I'm so close to finding the vampire who killed Sebs sister," her brother said. "I've narrowed it down to three places, all of which I have some minions scouting."

"Thanks for the update," Rebekah said, sitting up. "Have you told Finn this?"

Klaus shook his head. "I'll tell him all about it in the morning. Then maybe, just maybe, this family can catch a break."

"That reminds me, do you remember Celeste?" she asked, standing up and looking down at the pajama shirt and shorts she had changed into.

Klaus thought for a second, pouting. "I can't say I do, because I was raised not to lie," he said. "Remember?"

"The girl Elijah was in love with when we first found New Orleans," Rebekah said.

An ugly look grew on Klaus' face. "The boring French one?"

Rebekah nodded. "Yeah, her. She actually lived inside the body of somebody else and has been jumping from body to body for centuries. Now she's in Sabina."

"Who's Sabina?" Klaus asked.

Rebekah sighed. "The tour-guide witch," Rebekah said. "The one with the cool hair. Apparently now she wants Elijah back."

"Ooh," Klaus said, sitting up. "With Katherine being indecisive and Sabina after Elijah. That's bound to stir something interesting around here. Screw breaks."

She scoffed, opening her wardrobe and pulling out a low cut, red tank top that wrapped around her curves when she wore it. "Like Caroline hunting you for a change is not interesting enough?"

"That is none of your business, Rebekah," he said.

"Oh, shush, Nik," she said. "Do you like it?"

He looked up at her. "Like what?"

"Having _her_ want _you_ ," she said, walking into her bathroom and going behind the corner but leaving the door open.

He paused, still sprawled across her bed. "I must admit that there is something particularly... satisfying about it. But I will not act upon her confusion that she calls desire."

"What are you on about?" she asked, changing into the tank top and pulling a tight, black mini-skirt on with a pair of stilleto heels.

"I mean, my affection for her has only hurt her," he said. "She cannot really want that. She's just confused at the moment. Her chase for me will be a short one. As soon as she remembers how much she hates me, all will be right in the world."

"And you bury yourself in a bottle of tequila," Rebekah said, coming out of the bathroom and picking up a leather jacket from the back of her desk chair. "You know she _actually_ likes you, right?"

"If you believe that then she has to fooled as well as herself," he said. "Where are you going?"

She finished checking her make up and straightened up. "Katherine, Caroline and I are going to a club to dance to 21st century music. It's going to be awful."

 **Monday 02/10**

 **20:54pm**

 **The Forest**

"Good job," Kol patronized, sarcastically. "You grazed a rib."

Sebastian sighed and moved away from Kol. They had been in the woods for hours, practicing Seb's vampire-killing skills. Kol and his siblings would make it as easy as possible for Seb to stake the vampire, but Seb still had to work on actually pushing a wooden stake past a ribcage. Kol was his test subject. It hurt like Hell, but Sebastian wouldn't practice on any other vampire, as he only wanted to kill the one that hurt his sister. Klaus was busy looking for that vampire and Rebekah and Elijah were not willing to be his practise dummies.

Kol pulled out the last clean stake and threw it into the pile of bloody stakes that he had already pulled out of him.

"It's hard, okay?" Seb whined. "Like, where even is your heart?"

Kol sighed, making another cross over where his heart it. "Here. Like it was last time. And the time before. My heart doesn't swim around!"

"I know that!" Seb exclaimed. "Wouldn't killing you, however temporarily, work on saving your brother?"

"No, the curse is smarter than that," Kol said. He picked up one of the used stakes and handed it to Sebastian. "Come on, let's try again."

Sebastian looked at it, disgustedly. "Ew! Hell no, that's covered in your blood!"

"Seb, we're killing vampires, here, it might get a little bloody," he said. "Just impale me already!"

"That's what she said," Seb giggled, before taking the stake and forcing himself to hold it properly. "Okay, now where's your heart?" Kol helped him direct the stake over the point of his heart and held his breath, but Seb didn't do anything. "What do I do again, when you die?"

"Sit quietly and wait for me to wake up," Kol said.

Sebastian nodded before taking a deep breath and plunging the stake through Kol's heart.

"Oh, thank God," Sebastian said. Kol woke up and sat up, shaking his head to clear the 'dead' feeling. Sebastian was leaning over him, his pink hair looking disheveled for once.

"Why?" Kol asked, reaching for the wooden stake and pulling it out from inside of him. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Seb said. "But your skin went all gray and I could see your veins and I thought I had actually killed you. Like, for real."

Kol shook his head. "No. To kill an Original you need a special stake. The White-oak-stake. But it's under high surveillance. How long was I dead?"

"Like, three hours," he said. "It was getting boring. Are you okay though? I have some water in my bag if you want some-"

"Not, I'm fine," Kol said, standing up. He lifted up his t-shirt to look down at his toned stomach. "See? All healed." His chest was a little bloody, but other than that, unscathed.

Sebastian was looking at it in awe. "That's incredible. But please do remember that I _am_ gay, so if you show me your fantastic abs-"

"Okay, sorry," Kol said, pulling his t-shirt back down. "Shall we try again or should we go home?"

"Go home. I am so tired," Sebastian sighed.

 **Monday 02/10**

 **22:43pm**

 **Club**

Katherine moved about the crowd, listening to the dubstep/broken-computer music that she couldn't helo but nod her head to. She didn't mind dubstep music, but she knew Rebekah wasn't a fan of it. She laughed at the blonde Original who was sat at the bar, pushing away the line of admirers she was attracting. Caroline also moved among the crowd, dancing with her arms above her head, flipping her hair around. They had also sought of split up but often regrouped at the bar for more drinks when their vampire tolerance forced them to sober up.

"You go to clubs on Monday?" said a voice behind her.

"I didn't ask for anyone's opinion," she said. "So whoever you are, you better turn and run."

"You must be Katerina Petrova." Katherine stepped away from her prey, a young girl with curly blue hair, and straightened up, turning to face the woman who addressed her. "I've heard so much about you." The good thing about clubs was that you could bite anyone and nobody really noticed and if they did, they just assumed you were giving them a hickey or something.

"That's funny," Katherine said. "I haven't heard a single thing about you."

The woman stepped forward. "I thought you had lost your sense of humor along with your humanity. You vampires. Always saying you don't feel anything, but then curiously asking questions or angrily killing people. And of course, you're worried you'll have to turn it back on."

"I don't have my humanity off. I'm just an evil bitch. Who are you, again?" Katherine asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"The name's Celeste," she said, smiling. "I have a proposition for you."

"I don't want anything from you," Katherine said, turning away. She wore high-waited black shorts and a crop top and boots to her knees.

"You need to get out of New Orleans," Celeste said. "If you don't, Elijah will catch you and force you to open up to him. He has an annoying way of doing that. You don't want that, no, do you? I don't want it either."

"Why?" Katherine asked. "Why would you even care?"

Celeste paused. " _I'm_ the love of Elijah's life. Not you. You need to leave before I get angry. Off you go."

Now it was Katherine's turn to pause. "Who the Hell do you think you are? I'm the girl Elijah's been in love with for 500 years. You must not have heard of me because otherwise you wouldn't have the guts to come in here and antagonize me."

"I want you to never come back," Celeste said. "Leave. Don't come back. Simple. Or there will be consequences."

"Maybe I'm opening up to Elijah because I love him," she ssugested. "Also, I work alone, so if I was planning on leaving I would not enlist upon your help." She ran forward, but before she could thrust her hand inside of Celeste's chest, the witch did a spell to throw her against the wall. She walked forward, about to kill Katherine, when suddenly, her head was being dragged down by a hidden force until she hit the top of the bar. The witch fell down, unconscious and Caroline walked toward Katherine.

"Hey," she shouted above the music. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Katherine shouted. "Just some drunk witch from the Quarter. Let's go and find someone tasty to eat."

Caroline had become more leanient about hurting people as long as she didn't kill and she healed them after. She often had to restrain Katherine and Rebekah from killing as well, which was only annoying the two older girls. But the three of them managed the whole night without killing each other and they were counting that a progress.

* * *

 **Reminder that I'm making up my own Celeste Storyline.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **Please review, I LOVE getting feedback!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi everyone! So it occured to me that I've seriously been lacking Klaroline in this story of late so I hope you like them in this chapter. I certainly do.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter SIXTEEN**

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **11:36am**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

The return of Celeste was causing Katherine and Elijah more trouble to say the least, especially considering the fact that they were not okay in the first place, so Celeste only complicated things much, much futher.

"Who is she?" Katherine asked first of all. Of course, she knew the basics, but the answer she wanted from Elijah had nothing to do with her life. She wanted to know what the witch was to Elijah."Don't leave anything out because I will find out on my own and that will only be more painful for you."

"An ex lover," he said. "When we first met she reminded me a little of you, but I grew to love her for who she was. I would love to sit here and tell you that she was only a replacement for you but... I can't."

Katherine was pacing the length of her room and Elijah sat on the end of her bed, watching her, who wouldn't make eye contact with him. When she sobered up from the night before she was fuming at the return of Elijah's ex and she dragged him by his ear to somewhere private to interrogate him.

"You still love her?" she asked, pouting a little as she continued her pacing, refusing to look at him. She was afraid that if she looked at him, the man she loved, as he told her he loved someone else she would lose it. "Be honest!" she demanded.

There was a long pause before Elijah spoke. "When you love someone... those feelings will never truly go away. They will always be there. But you can decide what to do with what you feel. And I decide to push those feelings down and ignore them because what I feel for Celeste will never be able to compare with what I feel for you."

"So yeah, you still love her," she summed up, ignoring the rest.

"I'm sorry," Elijah croaked. "I should have told you about her..."

"Yeah, you should have," Katherine said, sucking her teeth. "But you didn't so now we have to deal with that on top of everything else. Brilliant."

"Do you still think we're worth it?" he asked. "Are we worth everything that we're going to have to fight against for the scraps of the relationship we could have had if circumstances are different? Am I worth it?"

"Of course you are," Katherine said before regretting it. "I... I mean it depends. You said you loved me for five hundred years. Did you lie? Did you love me before you found Celeste? Did you just... stop for a while?"

Elijah stood up and held his hands together behind his head. "No, Katerina, I always loved you," he said, "and that will not change. Ever. Celeste was a means of entertainment that I grew to be fond of. My love for you and my love for her sought of overlapped for a little bit. But I love you so much more than I ever loved her."

Katherine sighed. "I'm not mad at you for loving her, Elijah!" she exclaimed. "I'm mad at you for not telling me about her. And I'm mad at her for making this more complicated."

Elijah walked over to Katherine, intercepting her pacing and putting his finger under her chin and forcing her eyes to meet his. She tried to look away but he wouldn't let her. "Making what more complicated, my love?"

"Us!" Katherine said. "We have enough crap to deal with without Celeste forcing us into some kind of... crappy love triangle."

"This is not a love triangle" Elijah insisted, letting her go but she didn't look away. She kept looking into his eyes. "This is you and me facing one of the many problems we have faced together. There are always going to be reasons we won't work. But we have to face them together."

Then Katherine was the one to pull him closer. She put on hand on the back of his neck and his head bent down to touch foreheads with hers. Katherine closed her eyes and paused, taking a deep breath to calm down. Touching him helped. His mere prescence was sometimes enough to calm her rage.

"Okay," Katherine said, pulling away. "I believe you. So what do we do?"

Elijah straightened up, taking his soft touches away from her. "If you will except my decision... I wish for us to completely ignore her. If she tries to harm you in any way or persistently tries to break us apart I will... I will put her down. I promise."

"Fine," Katherine said, shrugging. "But if she does try to hurt me, I will have not trouble killing her myself."

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **11:45am**

 **Graveyard**

The sun shone, so close to be overhead as Rebekah weaved through graves, balancing on her toes so perfectly that the tips of her high heels were barely sucked into the soft lawn. She was wearing her long white cardigan that she hadn't worn for ages, with the belt around her waist and airtight black jeans tucked into her black boots. Her curly hair bouncing as she walked.

"Sabina," she said, coming up behind the witch who was kneeling by a grave. "Or Celeste. I realize we haven't properly reunited yet. How have you been?"

"I was great," she said. "Until, of course, you decided to pay a visit." She stood up and turned to face Rebekah.

"Oh, honey," Rebekah said, pityingly. "That ones so old even I'm embarrassed. And I've been in a box for the past ninety years, so I'm a little behind on modern humour. You should really be ashamed."

"I forgot how sweet you were," Celeste said, sarcastically. "I assume Klaus has a message for me? That's all you're useful for, aren't you?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," said another voice, behind Celeste. The witch turned to see Kol, smirking as he leaned against a tall gravestone. "She makes an excellent partner in crime. And Nik doesn't even know we're here."

"Then you're here to ask me about Finn?" Celeste asked, backing away so she could face both of them, who walked toward her. "I heard about his unfortunate situation."

"I'll admit, it has taken a little long to help our oldest," Rebekah replied as her shoulder met Kol's and they both walked toward Celeste, who had backed herself into another one of the tallest gravestones. "But we do always have so much on our plates, being The Originals."

"With Klaus daggering us on and off," Kol started.

"With Finn figuring out his morals and deciding whether or not to try and kill us," Rebekah continued.

"With saving Rebekah from the heartbreaking bastards she finds herself involved with again and again and again-"

"And Kol's desperate need to be included," Rebekah interrupted, snappily, "Elijah is the one who's usually so put together, putting us before his happiness time and time again."

"And he's so close to happiness with Katherine," Kol said. The two siblings stopped walking, having cornered Celeste, who was beginning to look frightened. "Don't you dare screw this up for him."

"Stay away from him," Rebekah added. "Don't get involved. As much as I dislike Katherine, she's a lot better for him than you ever were."

"Just behave yourself," Kol said. "Or I'll reach through your front and Rebekah will reach through your back and we'll both take each end of your spine and we will rip it out like the luck bone of a turkey."

"Then, whoever has the longest half," Rebekah said, "will beat you to death with it. It of course, you manage to survive the loss of your spine. Which you probably won't, but we always need a plan B, in case you've done a weird surviving spell on yourself."

"You don't even want to know what plan C is," Kol said. "But just a little hint, can you imagine what your spine tastes like?"

"Basically," Rebekah said, "long story short, stay away from Elijah. You ended it centuries ago. We all want it to stay that way."

Kol and Rebekah turned on their heels and left Celeste at the gravestone before she called them back. "Say what you will," she said. "Deny everything you want. Elijah loved me once, and love never truly dies. And screw that Petrova bitch. Nobody will ever love him as much as I do. As much as I have for the past centuries. Nobody. God, not even his family!"

Kol and Rebekah exchanged looks before they both ran at Celeste. Rebekah got there first and picked the witch up by the front of her shirt and held her against the tombstone, aggressively. Kol stomped his foot, cursing. "Why are you faster than me? We're both Originals!"

"But I was faster than you as a human," Rebekah said. "I guess that's it."

"You were not faster than me as a human," he said. "I was way faster than you!"

Rebekah sighed. "Kol, can we please move on to the whole 'threatening' thing, now? Please?"

Kol paused. "Yeah, go ahead."

Rebekah slammed the witch against the stone, cracking it and making Celeste cry out in pain. "Nobody questions our love for our family," Rebekah said.

Before Kol could add anything Rebekah fell to her knees in the pain Celeste was magically casting on her. Kol ran after Celeste who tried to escape after Rebekah had let her go. He grabbed Celeste by her neck and held her at arms length in front out him, not against anything. Celeste flinched before trying the same spell on Kol, who managed to resist it. He had spent a long time with witches so he knew how to handle their temper tantrums.

"Say what you will about Elijah dating risky women," Kol said. "But he doesn't usually tend to go for bitches who brings his little sister to her knees in pain. Now STOP DOING THAT TO HER!"

When Kol yelled it was scary. His vampire face crawled up onto him, blood rushing around red eyes and fangs exposed. Celeste instantly stopped making Rebekah scream in agony. The blonde Original got to her feet and glared at Celeste. "I may be faster than you," she said, "but you're better at handling witches."

"Well, I'm not very good once they learn expression," Kol said, thinking back to the school hallway, the embarrassing moment where Bonnie Bennett managed to fight him off and get away from him. "Anyway, Celeste," he said, turning back to her. "I think we've made ourselves very clear. You have no place with our brother."

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **11:53am**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"Hey," Caroline said, knocking as she cracked the door open. Klaus whipped around to face her as she peered into his room and blushed before whipping out again. "Oh God," she groaned, covering her eyes with her hand, even though she had closed the door behind her when she escaped into the hallway. Klaus had been standing in his room, with nothing but a towel around his waist and another in his hand, drying his wet blonde hair. "I am _so_ sorry!"

"It's fine," Klaus called through the door. "You can come in, now, I'm fully dressed." Caroline opened the door, her cheeks still bright red. He was still shirtless, but wearing black skinny jeans that he must have jumped into with vampire speed. "Well," he said, "partially dressed."

Caroline shook her head, sighing. "Okay, well, I'm going out to shop for Friday's party and... and I completely forgot what I came in here for..." Caroline said, absent-mindedly as she wondered if those abs were as rock hard as they looked.

Klaus whistled to get her attention. "Eyes up here," he smirked, pointing to his beautiful blues.

"Sorry," she said, snapping her head up to meet his eyes. "Um, I...Okay, I know this sounds really lame, but most things I say sound lame anyway so... anyway. I miss you. There I said it. I feel like we haven't spoken for ages, and I mean _really_ spoken. I've been trying to chase after you but I don't really know how to actually... go about doing that." Klaus had shrugged on a t-shirt while she was talking, a tight grey thing, and he sat on the end of his bed, waiting for her to continue. So she did. "I mean, you're so good at it," she said. "Like, have you seen your abs? And you're eyes are so freaking beautiful and you lips make me want to melt and you accent drives me freaking insane, okay? And all that sounds shallow, but there's also the stupid pieces of art and the birthday presents and your speeches! The things you say with that bloody accent are amazing!" His position didn't change at all, his face remaining unchanged, except for one eyebrow mockingly slipping up as it made fun of her. "Oh God, I'm so bad at this," she said, slamming her forehead into her palm. "The thing is, I'm not good at art! I can't draw you anything, or write you anything, and everything that you want, you already have, or could get so easily without my help! I think we can both agree that I'm not very classical with words! I don't have an amazing accent, or good lips, or eyes that make you melt! I haven't been very good at chasing after you, like a promised I would, because I don't know how our roles can be reversed because you're freaking perfect, Niklaus Mikaelson, and I'm not!"

There was a very long pause, where Klaus's expression still did not change from the bullying eyebrow, judging the very depth of her soul. Finally, after about a minute, Caroline spoke. "Did I say that right? Niklaus... Nee-Klaus-"

"You said it fine," he said, standing up, trying to hide the smile that was forcing itself onto his face. He stepped towards her and lifted his hand, deciding where to put it before resting it on her shoulder. "Caroline, listen to me and know that if you were ever going to trust me it would be on this. You. Are. Perfect. You are incredibly beautiful, so much so, that it's sometimes hard to believe you're real. You make everyone around you smile just with your presence. Even Rebekah has grown to like you, and believe me, with all the women I've been involved with over the years, are are the first to have Rebekah's approval in your pocket. You've done a fine job 'chasing' me. You can't possibly understand how hard it's been for me to resist."

"Trust me I can," she muttered.

"I am in love with you, Caroline Forbes." There was a pause and Caroline wondered if he was going to kiss her again, but instead he stepped away. "Which is why I gave Katerina her freedom. Why I let Elijah run away after her, why I apologised to Rebekah for daggering her, and am trying to save Finn, even though I believe he deserves this pain for trying to kill us. You make me a better person. Which is why you have to let me let you go."

"What?" she exclaimed.

"Nothing's changed, Caroline," he said. "It was a brilliant speech, Love. But I am trying... forcing myself to be a better person so that one day, I may actually deserve you. But right now to right thing for me to do is to let you go." He walked past her but paused next to her. "The right thing for you to do is move on." He kissed the side of her head before leaving the room.

As soon as he left Caroline he walked into Sebastian's room, where the boy was lounging on his bed, listening to music and flicking through some magazine with his feet in the air.

"Come along, Hunter," Klaus said. "We have a vampire to kill."

Sebastian looked up as if he was mildly interested in Klaus at the door. "Did you find the bitch that killed my sister?" he asked, pouting slightly as he flicked to the next page.

"I have," Klaus said. "We're taking a little road trip to Florida. Pack what you need, and meet me downstairs in ten minutes." He closed the door to Sebastian's room and sighed. "What is it?" he asked, turning around to face Caroline, who was waiting right behind him.

"I'm coming," she declared, completely poker-faced. "To Florida."

He blinked. "No, you're not," he said. "We're not going on vacation, Caroline. We're going there, killing the damn vampire, and we'll be back by tomorrow. Thursday at the latest. There won't be any time for beaches or anything."

"I don't care," she said. "I'm Sebastian's friend. I'm going."

"Katherine and Rebekah need you," Klaus tried.

She shook her head. "Katherine and Rebekah have gone 500-1000 years without me, they can take a couple day pause. And don't try Finn, because I'll be leaving him with three of his siblings to take care of him. Now, I need to go and pack."

She bounced off down the corridor, leaving Klaus alone. How was he supposed to spend a whole road trip with her without giving in and being with her?

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **13:27pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"Hello?" Rebekah said, answering her phone after the third ring, forgetting about Caller I.D altogether.

"Hey, Babe," Wren's voice sounded from the other end of the line. Rebekah sat up straight behind the desk chair in her room, looking around, waiting for Niklaus or Kol or someone to come in and ask who she was talking to. They all had supernatural hearing, so they could all hear this if they listened. "I want to take you out on a date," Wren said.

"That's great," Rebekah whispered, extremely un-enthusiastically. "Too bad we can't be seen around town together in the event of Nik killing you." She stood up as she spoke and listened through the door for one on her housemates coming to bust her.

"Exactly. I want to take you on a date where we don't have to be looking over our shoulders all the time for someone to find us," he said.

"Well tough," she said.

"There's a Museum in Chalmette I want to take you to," he said. "Tonight. It's out of New Orleans, nobody we know will be around. We can go on a date and not have to worry about getting caught. I already hired a babysitter."

Rebekah paused before beginning to smile. "You shouldn't have called me, Wren. Not when I'm in a house with several pairs of supernaturrally-impaired ears. But I would love that."

"Meet me outside my building at 7," he said. "Dress code: something sexy."

"I got it," Rebekah giggled. "See you then."

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **13:27pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Since his only older brother came back to life, he hadn't really spent any time with him, which was Elijah's fault, but with the Hunters curse getting worse and worse, Elijah thought it would probably be best to sit with him for a while.

"What's the worst one?" Elijah asked, sitting in Finn's armchair as his older brother curled up in a ball on the floor and leaned against the bed. Finn was telling Elijah about his hallucinations.

"Henrik," Finn said, instantly. "You all brought me back instead of him and you shouldn't of. He deserved to live more than I did!"

Elijah shook his head. "Whether that is the case or not, it would not have changed our decision. Henrik wasn't supernatural. Or if he was, if he had inherited the witch gene, we couldn't possibly have been sure. If we had picked Henrik, and found out he had only been human, it could have ruined the spell for Kol as well, and you definitely would not have come back. You were the safest choice. And I think Henrik would agree."

"Niklaus then," Finn said. "I see him as a child... maybe ten. With bruises on his face that Mikael created and a cut on his lip. He's always asking me why I did nothing to help him."

"We all made that mistake, Finn," Elijah said. "We were all afraid of Mikael. And we spent 1000 years paying for it with daggers in our chests. You've lost 900 years of your life as punishment for not helping Niklaus. We don't get to feel guilty any more. Even Niklaus told you it wasn't your fault."

"Sage," Finn said. "I turned her. I took away her humanity and that's all anyone really has."

Elijah paused. He had only ever met Sage a couple times, over 900 years beforehand, and he didn't know her very well. He knew that out of all of his siblings, he was the one who was kindest to Sage, despite the fact that he didn't particularly like her. "I don't think that's true," he said. "I know Sage asked you to turn her. She gave up her humanity for love. You should honour her decision instead of regretting it."

Finn paused, knowing that, no matter how hard he tried, Elijah would not be able to clean his guilty conscience.

"How's Katherine?" Finn asked, wanting to change the topic.

"She's fine," he said. "She's mostly just angry about Celeste being around."

"I don't blame her."

There was a long pause. "Would you still do it?" Elijah asked. "If I gave you the stake... do you still want to die?"

Finn paused before nodding. "I'm sorry, Elijah. It just hurts so much..." he looked up to his younger brother but, Elijah wasn't sat there any more. It was Mikael, sniggering at him. Finn jumped to his feet and backed away. Mikael got up and followed him, holding his hands out in a surrendering gesture.

"Get away from me," Finn growled.

"Finn," Mikael said, his voice strangely comforting. "It's not real, Finn! It's me, Elijah. What do you see?"

"You started all of this," Finn growled. "You turned us all to monsters!"

Mikael pointed toward his chest. "Do you see Esther? Finn, I'm not our mother, I'm Elijah! I'm your brother."

Finn gulped. "Not Esther," he growled. It wasn't real! He had to remember that it wasn't real! "Mikael," he said.

"I'm not Mikael," Mikael said. "I'm not! I'm Elijah! We were just talking Finn. You know it's not real."

Finn nodded. As soon as he realized it was still Elijah, as soon as he knew it was the curse and not Mikael, the image washed away and Elijah stood there, his hands surrendering as he looked nervous.

"Elijah," Finn agreed, sighing. He curled back up on the floor and put his hand in his hands. "I hate this. I hate this so much."

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **19:00pm**

 **Outside Wren's Apartment Building**

Rebekah walked up the steps to the front door of the apartment building. She wore very tall black pumps and a tight, silk red dress that was very, very short and a cropped leather jacket with sleeves just past her elbows. Her hair was thick and curly and she had a black purse over her shoulder. She buzzed the intercom up to his apartment and waited. And waited.

She buzzed again but there was no answer. She took her phone out of her purse and found him on her contacts and called him. "Hey," he said from the other line.

"Hey, I'm outside," she said, looking up the building to his window. "Where are you?"

"...You look irresistable in that dress," he said.

Her head whipped around, trying to place him, but he was nowhere in sight. "Okay, seriously, Wren. Where are you?"

"Turn around," he said. She did and saw him getting out of a roofless red convertable. He walked around the car and opened the passenger door for her.

"Nice car," she admired.

It was a twenty-five minute drive from New Orleans to Chalmette. Wren spoke mostly on the way there, talking about the Museum he was taking her to. Rebekah thought a museum on the first date was a little odd but she didn't think that much of it.

When they arrived there Rebekah was instantly confused. The museum was clearly closed. No lights were on, no cars were parked, the street itself was deserted. "I don't think you got the opening hours right," she said as he got out of the car. He said nothing so she got out with him. "Hey! You. I don't think you got the time right."

"I got the time perfectly right," he said, holding his hand out to Rebekah. "Trust me." She took his hand and let him lead her into the museum. She wasn't a complete fool, she was definitely aware of the possible outcomes of that night. Like she was going to follow one of the five, with their reputation, into a museum with nobody around and not be suspicious. She was on high alert, ready to fight if necessary. One of the doors were already open and he lead her inside.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he lead her through dark corridors lined with exhibits of Ancient Rome.

He lead her to a slightly later periodic exhibit and she gasped. She didn't know that existed. There was a drawing of Mystic Falls when she was human, the village she had lived in. And there was a drawing of herself after she was turned into a vampire with her fangs out. _The village believed one of it's own had created monsters out of the villages citizens._ the sign read.

"What the bloody Hell is this?" Rebekah asked.

"This whole section is mythology," Wren explained. "Just the stories the workers found interesting. My fellow hunter, Minnie – the girl your brother killed, worked here. She wrote this whole section up. She did the drawing and everything."

 _To some extent, the villagers were right. Six of their own had become corrupted, murderous monsters. They weren't themselves. In a sense, they were monsters who terrorized the village._

"Why didn't Minnie just... tell the truth?" Rebekah asked. "That we _were_ monsters."

"We can't just tell the world of vampires," Wren explained. "I wanted to show you it because you... you have the right to do whatever you want to with this exhibit."

"I'm just going to leave it," she said. "Let's go somewhere else."

Wren nodded. "Okay, well there's one more room I wanted to show you." He kept hold of her hand and lead her through some more corridors and through a pair of double doors to a planetarium.

He let her and walked to the front, pressing a few buttons to alight the round ceiling with beautiful pictures of stars and planets and colours igniting the sky. The rest of the room was dark and and the light from the ceiling was reflecting off of a few things, pink bouncing off her skin and green portrayed onto her hair. She looked over at Wren and laughed. He was also coloured in dure to the ceiling images, his black suit and white shirt turned purple and blue.

He smiled as he walked over to her. "This is... really pretty," she said, smiling.

"It gets better," he said. "I bought us something to do as well."

He pulled out a little remote from inside his pocket and pressed a button and the speakers started, but not with commentary of the stars and planets, but a song. _Distance_ , she thought it was called. He held his hand out to her and she took it, letting him lead her into a dance. He spun her around, dipping her, picking her up and twirling her.

Outside the Museum when his show of romance was over she asked how he was able to get in there at night without breaking any laws. He told her his brother owned the place. She told him she was going to get herself home, for safety measures and he said okay. He drove off, kissing her deeply and passionately before he left.

Instead of going home instantly she walked back over to the Museum and used the keys that she had taken from his pocket without him knowing to get back in. She found her way over to the exhibit Minnie had made about her and her family and she was the drawing and the words around it. Monster, corrupted, murderous. And before she knew it she was punching through the glass, picking up a fire estuinguisher to break the exhibit and tear the drawing and destroy the wretched womans art. How dare she? She knew nothing about her.

"I'm not a monster," she muttered when she finished, throwing the estuinguisher to one side before walking casually out of there.

 **Tuesday 03/10**

 **19:49pm**

 **Klaus's Car**

Klaus was so close to pulling the car over and kicking Caroline out. He loved her, but at one point, enough had to be enough. Sebastian had to stay in the car, this whole trip as about him, but maybe, without Caroline, he could get a break from their constant fantasy of being Taylor Swift. They had sang along to one entire C.D and then Caroline just replayed it and they started all over again, and God damn it, Taylor Swift was catchy. He was going to be singing 22 for days.

"Can we," Klaus begun, "possibly listen to something that's not terrible?"

Caroline gasped as if she could not believe is had the nerve. "Taylor Swift is incredible," she said.

Klaus rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'm sorry. But honestly, we've been listening to the same C.D over and over again since we left.

"True," Sebastian said. "Poor Klaus."

Caroline sighed. "Fine, we can do something else. Emphasis on the word 'do' because if we let Klaus pick the music, it'll be Classical FM the whole way, and while classical music is beautiful and I like it, I'm in a youth mood right now."

"Hm, baby, I feel you," Sebastian said. "So what do you bitches want to do?"

He was lounging across the back seat in skinny black jeans and a short sleeved, button down denim shirt and pink converse that matched his hair, which was perfectly styled.

"Um, know any good car games?" Caroline asked. Klaus sighed. Car games were almost as bad as Taylor Swift. "Ooh, it's not a car game, but we can play Snog-Marry-Avoid?"

"Yeah, sweetie, I so would," Seb nodded, "but knowing us, one of us will ask Klaus, Kol or Elijah and then things would just get awkward! Or Rebekah, Katherine and You, and babes, I can't think like a straight person today!"

"True," Caroline said. "So... Twenty Questions?"

"Can we behave like adults instead of playing a car game meant for children?" Klaus asked.

"Behave like adults," Seb repeated. "Have I not made an impression at all?"

"Do you know any adult car games?" Caroline asked, innocently.

Klaus paused. "There are no adult car games!"

"So no Taylor and no car games," Sebastian noted, before turning to Caroline. "Why do you like this player, again, Couch?" Caroline reached back and hit him. "Oh, sorry," he added. "Was I being too subtle?"

Caroline just rolled her eyes and sighed. "Should we look for a hotel, or is it too early?"

"We're not staying in a hotel," Klaus said.

Caroline and Sebastian paused and exchanged looks. "Where are we sleeping?" Seb asked.

"If you two must sleep, you will sleep in the car," Klaus said. "Finn's had the curse for way too long now, I'm not wasting any more time sleeping when his own dreams are vivid hallucinations of everything he regrets having done."

"Whoa," Seb said, after a pause. "Brother of the year, baby-cakes. I'm going to get some beauty sleep."

Caroline was lightly shaken awake by Klaus who had her passenger door open. He gestured for her to come with him. She opened her mouth to ask why, but he put a finger to his lips and pointed at Sebastian, who was asleep on the back seat. He gestured for her to follow him again, so she stood up and got out of the car.

She had not been able to change into pyjama's, so she was still in skinny blue jeans and a flimsy dark green jacket with long sleeves that covered half her hands over a light pink tank top. She still had high heeled ankle boots on and a light pink scarf with sunglasses pushed back over her wavy blonde hair.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

Klaus still wore the black skinny jeans and grey t-shirt he had worn earlier but with a black denim jacket and boots. His blonde hair was also pretty messy.

"It's a surprise," he said, leading her around to the drivers side and into a small forest on the side of the road.

"What time is it?" she asked. "Where are we?"

"It's about midnight," he said. "And we're halfway there. I got out for some fresh air and I found this place."

"What, the forest?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "It's like, a five minute walk, Caroline."

"Well, why are you bringing me there?" she asked, using her vampire balancing skills to not twist her ankles on her heels. The ground was pretty flat, covered with orange leaves and grass. Klaus walked a little ahead of her, leading the way.

"I thought you might like it," he said.

After a couple minutes, the trees faded into willows, and Klaus moved the drapes to the side like curtains every few seconds to let Caroline through. Eventually, he moved some drapes aside so that they were out in the open. And it was so open, that there was no more ground. Caroline looked down to find the ground about twenty feet down. Klaus had lead her to a miniature cliff edge.

He was right. She did like it. It was beautiful. Where the ground dropped down were a few boulders, and the ground down there was sand, or rough soil before leading to a small river, about twenty feet wide and so blue it made the air around it look a little purple. There were a few boulders in the river that Caroline guessed to be about two or three feet deep. A small while to her left was a rushing blue waterfall, only about two metres tall, making the stream run down to a lake Caroline could see was a while to her right.

"Whoa," she said, jumping off the edge and landing on a boulder, landing with all of her weight on her toes as to not break her heels. Klaus landed a little after her as she walked towards the river. "How did you find this place?"

"I just started walking," he said. He walked up behind her as she faced the river. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?" she asked.

He paused. "Did you really go to New Orleans for me? Did you really lie about a mental breakdown?"

She shook her head. "I don't really know. I mean... I know I couldn't handle Mystic Falls any more and my sub-conscience lead me to you, I guess." She jumped onto a large boulder in the middle of the stream, the water rushing around her. She held her hand out to Klaus, who followed her and took her hand. "It's like a fairytale, isn't it?" she said. "This place I mean. It's pretty majestic."

"Why did your sub-conscience lead you to me?" he asked.

Now she paused. "Because after everything you've done... I feel safe with you."

"Even after I made Tyler bite you?" he asked. "Even after I bit you myself after staking you? Even after killing Elena's aunt, and that werewolf and Tyler Lockwood's mother-"

"Stop," she said. "I should care about that. And I do. But not enough."

"Not enough to what?" he asked.

There was another pause. "I don't care about that enough to stop caring about you."

He shook his head, not excepting her answer. He turned to face her, holding her other hand. "You should hate me."

"But I don't," she said. "I like you. Was this your plan?" she asked, calmly. "This whole 'letting me go' thing. Was it some plan to get me to admit that I care about you?"

He shook his head again. "I would never manipulate you like that. But caring about me is not enough, Caroline. Changing your morals is a too big of a reaction to caring about somebody."

"I'm not going to change any morals of my own," she said. "Besides... maybe I don't just care for you."

He shook his head. "No, Caroline, stop. You hated me. We can't do this-"

"Yes we can!" she said. "We can do anything as long as we're together. We're Klaus and Caroline. Time spent hating you was time I could have spent with you wasted, and I'm sorry about that and maybe I'm finally excepting who you really are, because I wouldn't change you for anything. Not if it meant changing us. Because I've realized that nothing you could do will change how I feel about you. The worst thing you could ever do; the meanest you could ever be; the cruellest thing you could ever achieve... I will stand with you and support you through it all. Because I love you Niklaus Mikaelson!"

And suddenly his hand was at the back of her neck, pulling her towards him as his lips clashed with hers, his other arm wrapping tightly around her thin waist and the hand at her neck tangling itself in her hair. She had her own hands on his muscular back, clawing at her t-shirt. "Am I still let go?" she asked.

He shook his head in between kisses. "I'm never letting you go again."

And then they were falling off of the boulder and into the stream as she lightly screamed. She tore off his shirt and started on his jeans. He threw her scarf away, onto land, shortly followed by her jacket and shirt. She thanked herself for wearing pretty lingerie, even if her bra wasn't anything particularly fancy. And that moment was real. It was the realest thing she'd ever felt.

And the kisses were the _real_ first kisses. Not some sad, goodbye kiss in the middle of a room a witch had locked them in, not a kiss on the cheek to say good bye. Those kisses said hello, promised something new.

After their first time together, in the water of the stream, the walked back up to the willow trees. Caroline insisted on dressing before stepping on the leaves, but her skinny jeans wouldn't deal with her wet legs. In the end, Klaus dealt with his own skinny jeans and gave her his t-shirt. She dried off her feet with her scarf so they could walk through the forest without leaves sticking to her. They held hands the whole way, and at one point, stopped to sit under a willow tree. They could faintly see the stars through the drapes, and Klaus showed her what constellations he knew, that turned out to be a lot.

She was sat on his lap on the forest floor, pressed against his bare chest with their foreheads pressed together, occasionally kissing eatchother as she repeated some of her favourite poems to him. The ones that reminded her of him.

He asked her to tell him about winning her beauty pageant, so she stood up and strutted in his grey t-shirt like it was her green dress, pretending that the wet mess on top of her head was the perfect Cinderella curls she had had that day. He sat and watched her as the little show took a wrong turn. "And when I was alone that night," she said, smirking, "I thought I would reward myself."

He smiled. "I don't think I understand you, Love. You're going to have to show me."

He talked to her more about the cultures he wanted to show her, his other favourite cities around the world and the places he wanted her to see. They agreed that when Finn was back to normal, they would go and see the world together.

And then, they both sought of stumbled into The Talk. "Well, I'm going to have to be your girlfriend," she sighed, as if it was a problem. "I mean, you're mine, not anyone else's, so no other woman's allowed to touch you or look at you again."

"Well, that works for both of us," Klaus smirked. "Because I want to have you all to myself. I don't intend on sharing."

"Me neither," she said. "I can't wait to show you off to the world."

"And the same with you, sweetheart," he replied, kissing her again.

And eventually the sun came up, shining on both of them, turning their hair golden and shiny, and they had to get up and return to reality after a perfect night. They reached the car at about 6:00am and found Sebastian waiting outside of it, leaning against the hood. He noticed what they both were wearing and two and two clicked together. "Well, finally," he said. "I've been shipping you two since we met!"

* * *

 **Okay, so how'd I do on the Klaroline front? I actually wrote this scene way, WAY earlier than I expected to. Please let me know what you think!**

 **Reminder that I'm making up my own Celeste Storyline.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **CALLING ALL MABEKAH FANS: I started writing a story about Matt and Rebekah trying to raise Klaus's daughter after the season finale of The Originals. Overall I am against the baby plot but after seeing Klaus hand Rebekah his daughter, sudden inspiration struck me. So check that out, It's called _Life's Greatest Blessing_.**

 **Please leave a review!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter SEVENTEEN**

 **Wednesday 04/10**

 **06:17am**

 **Gas Station**

Caroline grabbed her bag and went into the ladies bathroom in a smelly gas station. It wasn't ideal, but she had to get ready somehow. She picked leaves and grass off of herself and washed her face to get rid of the grime and smudged make up. She also scrubbed away the smell of sex and re-did her make up. She changed into high-waisted blue shorts and a white t-shirt with a pink floral pattern. She also wore high heeled sandals with gold coloured straps. She decorated herself with a light amount of jewellery and checked out her hair in the mirror. Her wet hair had dried wavy and it was framing her face quite nicely, so she left it like that, afraid that brushing it would make it frizzy. It usually did after air drying. She pushed a pair of sunglasses on top of her head and sprayed a lot of deodorant to get rid of the gas-station-bathroom smell.

Outside, Sebastian looked at her in confusion. "That was quick," he said.

She shrugged. "Vampire speed," she explained. Sebastian had filled and paid for the gas and bought himself a breakfast. He also had changed into leather pants and a t-shirt that looked like it was made out of sparkly pink belts. He wore his round glasses and was doing his hair in the car mirror.

Klaus swaggered out of the men's bathroom in a tight black t-shirt and a slightly lighter pair of black jeans and boots. His hair and stubble were handsomely rugged and Caroline allowed herself to smile. It felt so goo behind able to pull him into her and kissing him, having him hold on back. They contrasted eatchother. She was light, wearing light coloured clothes and being full of happiness, and he was dark, although he was smiling a lot more than usual then.

"Are you done?" Sebastian asked, sitting shotgun with his feet up on the dashboard, filing his nails and looking at them adorably. "Because I am dressed to impress and ready to slay some sister-killing vampire bitch, so maybe you two can possibly be a couple on your own time? Unless you've forgotten, we have to save your brother."

Klaus sighed, before getting behind the drivers wheel. Caroline sat behind and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, kissing his cheekbones.

"Caroline, sweetheart, how am I meant to concentrate?" he asked.

She sighed. "I can't help it," she smiled. "I'm excited about us."

He turned his head and kissed her back. "Me too-"

"Okay," Seb said, getting out. He walked around to Klaus' side and opened the door, pulling Klaus out. He shoved Klaus in the back with Caroline and sat behind the wheel himself. "You guys can thank me later," he said. "Just don't get to intimate, Caroline. Klaus, you can do whatever you like." He set the GPS as Caroline swung her legs over Klaus' lap and they smiled at eatchother before kissing. That was going to be the start of something great.

 **Wednesday 04/10**

 **09:56am**

 **Shopping Center**

"So... why exactly do you want me to stay?" Katherine asked, walking through racks of cocktail dresses. Rebekah stood a little while away admiring a pair of stilleto heels.

"I think you're good for my brother," Rebekah said.

Katherine gave her a funny look. "I thought I was a bad influence, to be honest."

"Exactly," Rebekah said. She smirked at Katherine's confusion. "I think Elijah makes you a better person, but I also think you show him it's okay not to be perfect all the time. And he needs someone to pull that stick out of his arse."

"And what if I leave and he stays here?" Katherine asked. "It's a very real possibilty. If Klaus makes any sought of move, I will run. I always have, always will."

Rebekah shrugged. "I hope that's not the case but that's your choice. But I don't think you will. You need him as much as he needs you. But if you do leave then I guess I'm stuck with a snobby but loyal brother who will sit around sulking about losing you. Again. What do you think of this colour on me?" She held up a light purple, one-shouldered dress.

"A darker shade of that would be perfect," Katherine sighed. "So are we really going to do this, then? Shopping, talking, mentally puking. Are we actually going to try to be friends?"

Rebekah nodded. "I'm sure as Hell going to try and like you. Caroline would never choose between us, and things would start to get complicated. Elijah deserves to be happy without worrying about me killing you."

"Of course, Klaus's worst enemy and his little sister would piss him off," Katherine added, holding up a dark blue dress in the mirror.

"Exactly," Rebekah said. "We would make a bad ass duo, should the time ever come. Come on, let's go get lunch and come back to this later."

Lunch was quicker than expected and before long Rebekah and Katherine found themselves in a bookstore. They were flicking through books that looked intresting but quite often put them back. Katherine reccomended a few classics that were her favourites. Katherine came across a new poetry book, published only a couple days before hand.

"Hey, I didn't know that Hunter guy who kidnapped Caroline and you was published," she mused, flicking through part of the book.

Rebekah's head snapped up. "Minnie? The one Finn killed?"

"No," Katherine said. "I said 'guy'. Wren E Hayes." Rebekah walked over and snatched the book from her.

Katherine watched as she read the first few lines of the poem.

 _Space is like that special girl_

 _Able to lead a soul astray_

 _Compelling one_

 _to cross from one world to another_

They were the first lines of a long poem and the only ones Katherine remembered but she saw Rebekah read the poem and turn away from her.

Katherine wandered off and Rebekah was greatful because then she couldn't see the tears well up in the blondes eyes as she read the poem that was clearly written for her. She knew that. _You're just a person, I'm just a person, and all I can really say that won't gross you out is: Hi! My name's Wren._ She remembered him saying that about her once. And the poem said:

 _All I have to do is say Hello_

 _But all I can do is so much more_

 **Wednesday 04/10**

 **12:12pm**

 **Beach Café – Florida**

"Sorry we're late," Caroline laughed, hoisting herself up on a bar stool and calling the waiter over. "We would have been here sooner, but for the second half of our ride, the driver, Sebastian, God he was slow."

"I'm sorry," the man next to her said. "Are you talking to me?" He was tan with light brown, choppy hair, big brown eyes, and a brown goatee. He wore swimming trunks and a necklace with a bone on it.

Caroline smiled and nodded. "Yup," she said. She had traded her t-shirt for a black bikini top and had her sunglasses over her eyes instead of up on her head. She ordered a Martini which he made as she turned back to the man beside her. "I'm Caroline, by the way. So nice to meet you!"

"I'm Callum," he said, his eyes narrowing. "Why, may I ask, were you looking for me?"

"To kill you, mate," Klaus said, arriving on his other side and smirking. "What else?"

Callum narrowed his eyes. "You really don't want to mess with me," he said, sighing. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

Caroline sniggered. "I think we have a fair idea."

"Who are you?" Callum asked.

Klaus smiled, holding out his hand for Callum to shake. "Klaus Mikaelson," he said. Callum made no sign of recognition. "Ah, you may know me by my title: The Hybrid?"

Callums eyes widened in shock. "I haven't done anything to upset you," he said. "If I did I give you my word I didn't mean to-"

"You just killed the wrong person, that's all," Caroline said, leaning on the bar as her Martini came. She sipped it as she smiled, sweetly at Callum, teasing the idea of his death, as if, to him, it was a happy time of day.

"And who are you?" he asked her as she sipped her drink.

Klaus smirked. "This is Caroline. She's my girlfriend," he said. It was the first time Klaus had actually said it and it sent shivers down her spine. "I'd be nice to her if I were you."

"Shall we take this outside or are we going to have to compel all these people not to notice us?" Caroline asked. Callum stood up and tried to use his vampire speed to run out of the bar, but Caroline flashed in front of him, blocking him. He reached his hand out to moved Caroline, but Klaus grabbed it and twisted it behind his back.

"I warned you to be nice," he said. He nodded to Caroline who compelled everyone in the café to forget any of them were there before jogging out to meet Klaus who was dragging Callum behind the bar, where Seb was waiting with a stake in hand. Caroline took Callum out of Klaus's hands, and nodded for him to go away. They had a silent conversation with their eyes before Klaus left. They both knew he wasn't the most sensitive of people, and Sebastian might need a moment with his sisters killer to say goodbye.

"I can't do this," Seb said to Caroline.

She nodded, holding Callum outwards. "Yes you can," she said gently. "Use him to say goodbye."

"Say goodbye to what?" Callum asked.

Seb turned to him, before pausing. "I don't know what to say."

"Tell him why your doing this," Caroline said, softly. "Just so he knows. Say what you feel."

Sebastian paused. "I've thought a thousand times about what I would say if I ever met you," Seb said to Callum. "You killed my sister. My only family. I hope I can make you feel, physically, what I felt emotionally. But I can't. I'm going to make you feel a fraction of that. This is for you, Kasey." He held the stake properly while Caroline held Callum in place, and her drove it through the vampires heart. Caroline pushed him away as his skin went grey and his veins went noticeable.

There was a pause. "Do you feel any better?" Caroline asked, putting her arm around his shoulders. He was a few inches taller than her.

He shook his head. "No. I thought I would but... revenge didn't bring her back."

Caroline sighed. "But at least you did something," she said. "You helped save Klaus's brother, a good man. And you not only avenged your sister, but everyone that vampire's killed, and I promise you, there would have been more. Come on, let's go back."

Sebastian nodded. "Thank you," he said as Caroline lead him into the bar and bought him a drink.

Klaus stood outside of the bar with his phone pressed to his ear as he waited. The other end of the line clicked on, but nobody answered him.

"Did it work?" he asked.

There was a short pause. "Yeah," Finn's voice said. "Yes, it did. The hallucinations have vanished."

Now Klaus paused, sighing with relief. "Good. Sebastian killed the vampire. I honoured my word to him and made sure it was the one that killed his sister. His tattoo has apparently grown, but that's not important."

There was another pause. "Thank you, Nik," Finn said. "For everything..."

"I've been through the curse, remember?" he said. "Wouldn't wish that on my big brother."

"I meant everything else," Finn said. "Thank you for bringing me back to life when I tried to end yours. Thank you for not hating me for that. And thank you for not hating me for... letting Mikael do what he did to you."

Klaus let another pause happen as he thought about Finn's thanks. "Thank you," Klaus returned, "for being able to except me after keeping you in a box for 900 years. I guess we're even. I owe you nothing, and you in return."

"That doesn't mean either of us will ever stop giving," Finn said. "You're my younger brother, Niklaus, I don't have to owe you to aid you."

"And the same to you," Klaus said. "Tell the others of Sebastian's achievement. He, Caroline and I will be home at about 11pm."

"Bye then," Finn said.

Klaus hung up.

 **Wednesday 04/10**

 **12:31pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn finished telling Kol and Elijah that the curse was over and received two celebratory hugs, which were rare with the Mikaelsons. Kol poured them all a glass of scotch and they sat on the couches in the parlour room. Finn had decided to wait until Rebekah got back to tell her.

"To Finn's sanity," Kol said, raising his glass.

"Here, here," Finn and Elijah said in unison, also raising their glasses before drinking.

"Still having those suicidal thoughts, brother?" Kol asked.

Finn shook his head. "Absolutely not. I'm going to live life to the fullest. It's what the real Sage would have wanted."

"Oh, that wench?" Kol asked. He paused. "Sorry."

"My thanks for your sensitivity," Finn said. "I know none of you approved-"

"No one in this family ever approves of eatchothers loves," Elijah said. "Here's to disregarding their opinions and embracing love anyway." Elijah knew most about that. They all raised their glasses again before drinking.

Finn paused. "I haven't taken a calm shower for nine days," he said. "I better go and do that."

"Yes, please do," Kol said, wrinkling his nose. Finn got up and walked out, leaving Kol and Elijah alone. Kol turned to Elijah. "So... Katherine vs Celeste, then?" Elijah nodded slowly, staring off into space. "Is Kat going to stay?" Kol asked. "Klaus is coming back today..."

"She has made no apparent attempt to leave, but I will not be surprised if that is her decision," he said. "She has ventured out in the city, and Rebekah is with her, keeping an eye on her for me. She has made no attempt to pack her things."

"Are Rebekah and her friends?" Kol asked. "Out shopping together?"

Elijah shook his head. "No, Rebekah told me before she left that she was only going for my benefit. She now suddenly desires for Katherine and I to be together which confuses me in itself as she detested the idea before. But then she convinced me to go and find her, and now she has accompanied Katerina to..."

"Chat you up?" Kol asked.

Elijah nodded slowly. "I do not understand where Rebekah's opinion lays with the idea of a relationship between Katerina and I."

Kol paused. "Rebekah and I both agree that Katherine is... healthy for you. For several reasons. I informed her of what you and Katherine were like during what I saw of the relationship and you know that she is fed up, more than any of us, of Niklaus taking away the people that we love, so maybe, in her own way, this relationship between the two of you is her way of trying to assure that you do not go through the same pain she has felt, time and time again due to losing somebody she loves. Maybe, Elijah, your sister is just looking out for you."

"Yes, well that thought has certainly occurred to me, Kol," Elijah said, "but you have to admit it is, as much as I love her, unusual for Rebekah to want anybody to be stealing attention from any of her brothers."

"True," Kol said, "but in her defence, she has been the only girl around for centuries and from what she's seen women do to us, her mistrust in them around us is understandable. Yet, here she is, becoming best friends with Caroline and trying to get along with Katherine."

"Why do you think this is?" he asked.

Kol shrugged. "Must there be a reason? Can't our sister just develop? Evolve?"

 **Wednesday 04/10**

 **18:22pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

She was part of the staff. A maid. Now the blood from her neck leaked through her white apron, soaking her clothes, her hair, staining her skin. The smell of blood posioned his mind. He had drank from one of the other maids when he was under the Hunter's curse and the taste of blood had stuck with him, burned itself into his memory.

He had just killed someone else. Another maid. He dropped the dead body from his grasp. He hadn't meant to. He had tried so hard not to. But she was there... dead. Just... dead. She may have had children, a husband or wife who would be asking why she wasn't coming home. She may have had siblings or parents who would wonder why she never called anymore.

And he had liked it. He liked killing her...

"I don't think we've officially met," Katherine said, walking toward Finn, who quickly hid the body. "I'm Katherine."

"I'm Finn," he said. "You're the love of Elijah's life, right?" He turned to study her curiouslyy. They stood parallel to eatchother on the parlour, both with their arms crossed.

"Did he tell you to say that?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. "Because I'm pretty sure he's had more than one love, much to my distaste."

"He didn't ask me to say anything," Finn said, "Besides, do you really believe Celeste is a threat? I haven't even met the woman and I know you have no challenge."

She paused. "How?"

"The way Elijah looks when you're mentioned," Finn said. "He loves you."

She shrugged. "I know. But he also loves Celeste so..."

"It's nice to meet you," he said, after a long pause.

"You, too," she said.

"Elijah's waiting for you upstairs," Finn said. Katherine tuned into her vampire hearing and heard Elijah pacing the length of her room.

"Yeah, I better go deal with that," she said. "Nice meeting you." She turned and walked out of the parlour and up to the guest bedroom she was staying in, where Elijah had ceased his pacing to sit on the desk chair. "You know," she said, "I may have only slept in this room a few times and I certainly don't call it my own but it's still very rude or you, my lord, to intrude."

He looked away as she called him her lord, like she used to so long before hand. She knew the kinky bitch liked it. He didn't smile though, he just seemed annoyed by it. "You're in that kind of mood, are you?" he asked.

She smirked. "Maybe, like, a really concentrated version of that mood. What mood are you in? You look... pissed off."

"I'm not," he said, shaking his head and looking at her. "I expected this."

"Expected what?" she asked.

"This," he said, standing up and gesturing to her bed, where she had suitcases and bags with clothes and books and gadgets, and everything she had taken to New Orleans or bought since, flowing over the top.

She paused. "Am I really that predictable?"

He approached her, brushing the hair away from her face and caressing her cheek. She moved her head away, like he once did when he was mad at her. "Please don't," he said, his hand dropping to his side.

"Don't what?"

He paused. "Don't leave," he said. "Don't act like whatever this is isn't worth fighting for. Stay. Niklaus nor Celeste will hurt you, I promise! I give you my word."

"Your word doesn't mean anything to me any more," she said. "You always seem to break it when it comes to me."

He nodded. "I know. I regret it. I regret ever hurting you. Which is why you're the better one of the two of us. So where I've chosen to leave you, you now have the chance to make the better choice and choose to stay." She didn't say anything so he continued. "Leaving you the first … and second time destroyed me. I can't lose you again. For the first time since we met I have the chance to have both you and my family-"

"And if I left, you would pick them, again," she said. "Even if it destroyed you."

He shook his head. "Not this time." She tried to say something contradicting, but he just repeated himself. "I would go with you. My family don't need me right now, but that doesn't mean I don't want them. They've always made me give you up for them. Please don't make me give them up for you. Just because we're in a bad place doesn't mean we can't be fixed. Please stay. Please! I'm begging you."

She paused as he took her hands and looked deeply into her eyes as he pleaded. Finally she broke the silence.

"The thing is, Elijah... I know that you regret leaving me," she said. "I know that you were hurt by it and all. But that doesn't change the dysfunction of our relationship in the first place. We blamed everything on Klaus, but it wasn't just him, was it? It was you who hunted me for five hundred years. You who turned me into this. You made Katherine Pierce out of Katerina Petrova and you tried to shame me for it. You built these walls up around me and you expect me to knock them down for you."

He nodded. "I know. I have never really apologized for eveything that I should have. I haven't even apologized for half of everything I should have. I'm sorry for that, first of all. And, Katerina, if you stay you'll be giving me the chance I don't deserve to try and make it up to you."

"I bought an apartment," she said, simply. Elijah's look changed. His desperate eyebrows lowered, his eyes stopped being so wide. He rarely ever begged for things, and when he did, his face changed, from still with emotions lacing his eyes to emotions tracing his face with desperation.

"You did what?" he asked.

"I was on the phone with Caroline earlier, while I was out with Rebekah," she explained. "We both agreed that staying with this family can get really awkward with arguments over breakfast and being secluded and everything. So we decided to get a place of our own, together. She hasn't asked the Hunter yet, but if he's staying he might be moving in with us. It's nothing fancy. An old building on St. Peters Street, prettier inside than out, with hardwood floors. Kind of a mix between classic and modern. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 2091 square feet. When I say bought I mean compelled. Rebekah helped me pick it out. It's not too far away. Fancy balconies with a good view."

"You're not leaving?" he asked, after another pause.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. I mean, this does not mean we're okay, but it means that we can try to be. Guess I'm not as predictable as you seem to think." She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into a heated kiss, his other hand going around her waist, holding her there. When she pulled free, she was mad. "What did I just say?"

"That we're not okay, but we can be," he said. "Consider that to be hope." She rolled her eyes as she pushed him away to continue packing.

 **Wednesday 04/10**

 **23:03pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Klaus was surprisingly okay with the idea of Caroline moving into a condo with Katherine. Caroline wondered why he wasn't going to try and make her stay living with him, but she put herself in his position. If they spent all of 24/7 with eatchother, living together, spending their days together, they would get bored, and Caroline would much rather spend their days together and nights apart. Not that she wouldn't regularly stay the night with Klaus, or him stay the night with her.

Besides, he respected her decision. She had worried that after they really started dating he would turn into misogynistic, controlling freak, but he treated her, if anything, like more of an equal than before.

When they pulled up in front of the Mikaelson Mansion, Klaus opened her door for her and took her overnight bag, despite her laughing protests. Klaus nodded to Finn and Caroline hugged him, along with Kol, Elijah and an extra long hug for Rebekah. She went upstairs to look for Katherine and Sebastian went into the kitchen to look for some food while Klaus greeted his siblings.

* * *

 **Reminder that I'm making up my own Celeste Storyline.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **Why does nobody review anymore? If you don't like it, please tell me why!  
**


	18. Chapter 18

**So this is the longest chapter so far. I hope you enjoy!  
**

 **Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! They make me unimaginably happy! Love to hear enthusiam about Kalijah. Guest: Thanks for pointing out the problem, I changed it and it seems to have made a difference ;). I'll make that double-date idea reality but it will have to be in later chapters, possibly the ending chapter. In other news, let's just say Rebekah won't be completely left out of the apartment for too long. ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter EIGHTEEN**

 **Thursday 05/10**

 **Noon**

 **The Apartment**

Caroline and Katherine both owned very little, neither having been in New Orleans for very long, so it didn't take either of them too long to unpack into their new apartment.

Katherine had chosen her room the day before, a slightly bigger one with a balcony and a platform bed. The apartment was already decorated with furniture which was useful. She had a dark oak bed in her room, so far with just thick duvets and feather pillows with crystal white sheets and two mattresses. Her floors were hardwood and bare and she had a dark dresser and a wardrobe. Her bathroom was across the hall, and was white-tiled with a hot tub feature on her bathtub. The walls of her bedroom were beige with light wood suspenders.

Caroline had chosen her room out of the remaining two when she got there that morning. It was slightly smaller than Katherine's and had no balcony but her bigger bathroom was onsuit. Her bedroom floor was carpeted with a beige carpet and she had a black leather sofa opposite a dark bed. She had wall closets along one wall and a full body mirror that was shaped like waves. She also had thick duvets, feather pillows and two mattresses with white sheets.

The living room was brightly lit, with two floor-to-ceiling windows/doors on each of two adjoining walls, each leading to four different balconies (not including Katherine's) that had a beautiful view of New Orleans from the fifth floor they were on. The floor of the living room was dark wood with a square of white carpet in the centre, with two brown sofa's facing eatchother across a coffee table. Two of the walls had glass doors but one of the _other_ two walls had a flat screen television above a collection of low down shelf tables that Caroline had decorated with ornaments. The last wall had the front door next to the kitchen, which was not it's own room, but part of the living room, separated with a counter with barstools around it.

A hallway lead out of the living room through the wall with their television, which lead to Katherine's room, Katherine's bathroom and the spare room which was currently being used as a laundry room, with a washer and a dryer and nothing else. To the right of the television wall was the kitchen/front door wall and to the left of that, opposite the television wall was a door leading into Caroline's bedroom.

"I finished unpacking," Caroline said, walking into the living room. Rebekah was lounging across one of the couches with her feet up, looking perfectly at home. Katherine sat opposite her.

Caroline had asked Sebastian if he wanted to take the third bedroom, but he said that A) as a hunter, it would be dangerous to live with vampires and B) he had to get back to England, where his life was. He was going to leave on Friday, as he had some friends wedding to attend to on Thursday. Caroline had been sad at first, but wished him all the best.

"Great," Rebekah said. "Does this mean we can finally open the champagne?"

Caroline nodded, going over to the kitchen and bringing out the champagne she had bought, cheerfully. The other two girls joined her around the counter as she opened it. Thankfully it made a calm opening and didn't fizz, so Caroline pulled out three glasses and poured everyone a glass.

"To me having great taste in apartments," Katherine said raising her glass.

Rebekah sighed. "To me, for showing you this building in the first place," she said, clinking her glass with Caroline's and Katherine's. She had come over to help the girls unpack. "Besides, I did most of the compelling. Anyway, you two enjoy it here. You're so lucky you don't live with us any more. I wish I could get away from my migraine-inducing brothers. And vampires can't even get migraines."

"To my relationship with Klaus," Caroline said, "Katherine and Elijah fixing their relationship and Rebekah getting impossible migraines. Cheers." They all sipped their champagne before laughing.

"Are we going out or what?" Katherine asked. "I still need to buy something to wear to Celeste's poor excuse to meet with Elijah tomorrow."

"I have dibs on wearing black, you guys," Rebekah said. "Don't clash with me."

"I'm thinking green or blue," Caroline said. "Maybe Cyan."

"I want a very Katherine-Party-Themed intimidating shade of purple," Katherine said, putting her empty glass of champagne down. "Shall we make a move?"

"Come on, then," Caroline said, picking up her bag and car keys.

 **Thursday 05/10**

 **15:34pm**

After shopping for the gala, Caroline dragged them along to buy domestic decorations for their new home. Both Katherine and Caroline bought knew bedsheets and argued about what lamps should go where. They bought new cushions and ornaments and curtains before all piling back into Caroline's car and driving back to the apartment, all with their fair share of bags.

They all got to work, the three of them decorating the apartment. Caroline decorated her bed by pushing it against the corner between two walls and having a mixture of white and pastel coloured sheets and bed spreads. She had printed black birds onto her wall, flying around the corner that her bed was pushed up against and started a mood board on the wall next to it, with inspirational quotes, beautiful places and at least one selfie with each Mikaelson and Katherine, making the beige walls look more alive. She had a lamp next to her bed, making the corner look extremely cosy.

Katherine got see through white drapes hanging off of the low ceiling above her bed, dangling down to each corner, gathered like curtains. She kept the plain sheets but added some artistic pictures to the wall at the head of the bed. She had fairy lights decorating the wooden supporters and leaving a small trail around the walls. She decorated her dresser with folders, speakers and little ornaments and a tall, frilly white lamp that kept the room lit well. She had curtains, like the fabric draping her bed covering the glass doors to the balcony.

After another glass of champagne with Rebekah, she went home. Klaus came around to see the place and Katherine avoided him by staying in her room as Caroline showed him her own.

"You've made it look like home already," he said as she sat on the double bed. Her sheets weren't very fancy and they were already a little messy, her laptop was out and open on her bed and her throw cushions were a little askew. He admired her mood board and sat next to her on her new bed.

"I've had all day to work on it," she said, smiling. She had a desk against the wall opposite her bed that was covered in photo-frames and course work and albums. Klaus admired a vintage telephone on her bedside table. She smiled, leaning forward and pushing him into leaning back across her bed with his legs over the edge. She put her legs over him, straddling him, before leaning down, giggling and kissing his smile away.

"I'm never going to get used to this," he smirked as they pulled away. "Having you love me back... it's the best thing that's happened to me for 1000 years."

He ran his hand up her bare leg – she was only wearing her underwear and a t-shirt – and pulled her down to kiss him again. "We can't do this, Katherine's in the other room," Caroline smirked.

"Maybe I don't care," he said. "If you didn't want anything to happen tonight, you shouldn't have invited me into your room, with candles and music-"

" _Horse With No Name_ is hardly the most romantic song," she said, listening to the low volume music she had playing from her iPod. "And the candles are scented. I only want my new room to smell like French Vanilla."

"Maybe you should have worn pants," he added.

"I didn't even know you were coming over," she lied. "Am I not allowed to be comfortable in my own home?" He flipped them over, so that he was on top and her legs were wrapped around him.

"I can make you very comfortable," he was leaning down to kiss her.

She giggled some more. "This is a new bed," she laughed. "You are not going to break it!"

"You have two mattresses and an army of pillows," he argued, doubting the bed would break.

"All for a better ride," she smiled. "When Katherine's out!" He rolled his eyes, sitting back down, looking bored. Caroline sat up and straddled his hips again, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"I thought you said not tonight," he said, between kisses.

She pulled away, momentarily. "Just because we can't cross the line doesn't mean we can press up against it." She kissed him some more. "Why? Have you never had a hot make-out session in teenage girls bedroom?"

He smirked, before pulling her deeper into the kiss. "Did you buy something sexy for tomorrow?" he asked. She nodded, giggling. "How sexy?"

"Bare back," she said, "a little cleavage. It's a long-skirt occasion so that's about as much as I can do."

He smiled. "That is sexy."

She pulled away. "We have to take out second-day couple picture," she said. He groaned.

"Are we seriously going to do that?" he asked.

She nodded. "So on our anniversary we can look back and look out how far we've come, and how my hair will change and stuff." She sat next to him and pulled out her phone, leaning on his shoulder as he kissed her forehead as she took the picture.

 **Thursday 05/10**

 **18:14pm**

 **Wren's Apartment**

Oliver was out at a friends house and would be back for dinner any minute so Rebekah and Wren had decided to cook together. She had told him she found his poem and he asked if she liked it. Then they had sex.

Now, though, they were fully dressed and making empanadas. They flicked food at each other and laughed and danced a little to the song on the radio. Eventually, however the smell of food mixed with the scent of his blood and she wondered when the last time she had actually fed was. A few hours ago... it didn't matter. She was hungry now. She turned away as her true, monstrous face began to grow on her. He noticed something was wrong.

"Rebekah hey, what's up?" he asked, touching her shoulder. She could hear the blood flow through his body, feel the warmth of the sweet, red nectar.

"Get away from me," she muttered. He must have heard the lisp in her voice due to her fangs because he did as he was told and backed off. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, calming her hunger. When the monstrous aspects of her face disappeared she turned back to Wren and gasped. "What the bloody Hell is that?" she demanded.

His hand was etching toward a wooden stake on the worktop. "I'm sorry," he said, instantly taking his hand away from the stake. "I just... I saw your face and instict took over-"

"Fuck instinct," she said, intantly mad. "Why do you even have a bloody stake on the counter, conveniently there when I'm in the kitchen?"

Wren paused. "I... I'm a hunter, I have stakes."

"You have stakes where I am?" she asked. "You have the stakes at the ready when I come over?" Wren paused before stuttering, as if thinking about what to say. "Well?" Rebekah demanded.

"I don't know," he stuttered before realizing that was a mistake. "I mean no, no of course I don't. It was just there-"

"Why?" Rebekah asked, her voice rising a little big.

"Because I'm a hunter," he exclaimed. "Okay? I have stakes."

Rebekah pouted, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "Okay, even so, let's just say you accidently left it lying around. Fine. Why reach for it? Why prepare yourself to stake me?"

"I wasn't preparing myself to stake you-"

"Yes you were," she said, angrily. "You definitely were. Why else would you reach for the stake?"

"I told you, Rebekah, instinct," he said. "Why are you getting so worked up about this?"

"Because you were just preparing to kill me," she said, emphasizing each word as if she was talking to an idiot.

"I was not preparing to kill you," Wren said, his voice rising too. "I told you it was instinct!"

"And I told you that doesn't change shit," she yelled.

"Rebekah, calm down-" he said.

"Don't you bloody tell me to calm down," she said, her voice quieter than before. "I want to know why you prepared to stab me. You promised me you had it under control, Wren. You told me your instincts didn't matter around me because you could control it!"

"And you told me you could control your hunger," he countered, yelling now. "It was self-defense, Rebekah."

"Self defense?" she found herself yelling again. "I thought you said you trust me! Besides I do have it under control! I didn't bite you, did I?" Wren looked taken aback. "Well? Did I? No, I didn't, because I do have it under control!"

"I didn't exactly stake you, did I?" he countered.

"No, because I caught you before you had the chance to," she yelled. There was a knock on the door and both of their heads whipped around to face it. "That's Oliver," Rebekah said, hearing the young boys voice outside the door talking to his friends mother. "I should go."

"No, you don't have to," Wren said, not meeting her gaze.

Rebekah nodded. "Yeah, I kind of do. Because I will not be able to go all evening without yelling at you and I don't want to embarrass you in front of your son. It's best he doesn't know I'm here." She walked over to the balcony, knowing Oliver liked her and would try to get her to stay.

"You're going to jump out the window?" Wren asked.

Rebekah didn't say anything as she jumped out into the street.

 **Friday 06/10**

 **01:21am**

 **The Apartment  
**

Caroline could decorate her room as much as she wanted, with art and ornaments and photo-frames and candles and those ornaments that looked like words saying 'Love', 'Peace' and 'Hope', and she could make her bed as comfortable as she wanted, with two mattresses, a thick duvet, three feather pillows and about 10 white and pastel colored throw pillows with inspirational quotes on them, but in the end, she couldn't make the room feel like home with just stuff.

The two Vanilla candles had been blown out, but the scent still lingered in the air, like her old bedroom in Mystic Falls, so she was feeling fairly at home. She had her lamp on, next to her bed, illuminating the corner her bed was pushed into and she was buried in her bed stuff as she sat cross legged on her bed. It was feeling very homely already, but the thing that made it feel really like home, was Klaus on Skype, on the Laptop in front of her.

They were still in the couple phase where they missed eachother when they were separated and called when they were gone. Somehow they never ran out of things to talk about. Like, then, they were talking about how Caroline kept in touch with everyone in Mystic Falls.

"I call my mom at least once a day," she said. "I usually text Elena, Matt and Bonnie. I Skype with Stefan and I don't keep in touch with Tyler or Damon." She told him this when he asked if she had completely abandoned her life in Mystic Falls.

"Why did Tyler and you split up, again?" he asked. Through the computer screen Caroline could see him sitting behind a desk.

"Well, do you remember when you chose me over your revenge for Tyler?" she asked. "Well, he chose his revenge for you over me."

"You are worth much more than everything else on this planet," he said. "Including revenge."

"Is that why you let Katherine live?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, simply. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you, too," she said. It almost felt as if they were a normal couple, saying 'I love you' so easily after so long of denying it... she felt like she was free. "I miss you," she added.

"I miss you, too," he said. "Maybe tomorrow I can spend the night."

She smirked. "Maybe. If Katherine's okay with it. We can't have sex if she's home. I have to respect my friend."

He nodded. "You don't know how incredible it is to here you say those three words to me," he said.

"I do," she said. "I mean... I had to hide it for so long. Listen, I have to go to sleep. I have college in the morning and I have to be up early. I love you."

"I love you, too," he said. They said goodnight to eatchother before she shut down her laptop and lay in bed.

And just like that she was home.

 **Friday 06/10**

 **Noon**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Sebastian finished packing his stuff into the cab before closing the lid and hugging Caroline. "Take care of yourself, okay?" she said.

"I will," he laughed. "I am so going to start that charity for gay supernatural bitches. Anyway, babe, call me every day?"

"Definitely," she said. "What are you going to do?"

"Other than continue my life?" he asked. "I think I'm going to bleach the pink out of my hair and dye it blue. What about you?"

"Staying with blonde," she said. "For now, anyway."

He smirked. "From what I've seen, you and Klaus were made for eatchother. Cherish that love, okay?" They hugged again before Sebastian turned to the others.

He forced Elijah into a hug which the Original returned. "Don't give up on your girl, okay?" he smirked, before pulling away. "But if you're ever experimenting, Caroline's got my number, okay?"

"Thank you," Finn said. "For saving me from that curse."

Sebastian sighed, as if Finn was adorable. "No problem," he said. "Glad I can help you. Take care of yourself, and don't kill any more hunters."

He turned to Klaus. "Come here, muffin," he said, pulling Klaus into a hug. "Take care of Caroline, 'kay?"

"I promise I will," he said.

Sebastian turned to Katherine. "I don't really know you, but you seem nice, and you make my baby Elijah happy and you have really great hair so I wish you all the best." He moved on to Kol. "I was so hoping you'd be gay."

"Sorry," Kol said, hugging Sebastian. "Trust me, I wish I was gay sometimes as well. It looks so much easier."

"It can be," Seb nodded, turning to Rebekah. "You also have some of the best hair I've ever seen so I'm going to leave you with one piece of advice, because I'm like, a guru. Don't dye your hair, because it will ruin it."

He hugged Rebekah and Caroline again before getting into the back of the cab and waving. "Oh, by the way," he said. "I stole all of your human food. Sorry."

When the cab was out of eyesight, Klaus said: "He was weird."

"He just danced into our lives," Kol said, "saved Finn, took all of our food and left."

There was a pause. "I'm going to miss him," Elijah said.

"Me too," everyone else agreed.

 **Friday 06/10**

 **17:50pm**

 **The Apartment  
**

Caroline rushed into the Apartment and threw her take-away latte cup into the bin. She pushed off her sunglasses and dumped them, her folders and her bag on the kitchen counter before walking into Katherine's room.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, sitting on the bed and sighing. "Class went on for a little longer than usual."

Rebekah was sat at Katherine's dresser with some professionals that she compelled touching up her make up. "Was Suzanne late again?" she asked.

"No, she just didn't plan very well for the lesson," Caroline said. Her English Literature teacher, Suzanne was very often late to their lessons, but usually in the morning. Katherine sat on her bed, buried in the thick duvets and mattresses, another professional styling her hair. Caroline went over to the full body mirror where another lady came over and started undoing her knotted bun and brushing through her wavy blonde hair.

"So," Katherine mused. "Your and Klaus's first outing as a couple?"

Caroline nodded. "I'm not going to make a big deal out of it, though."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow. "Like you don't make a big deal about everything?"

"Shut up," she said. "I'm not going to be one of those girlfriends that make a big deal out of everything. Let's talk about something else. Katherine and Elijah, maybe?"

"Oh, God," Katherine said, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, what is the status between you and my brother?" Rebekah asked.

Katherine sighed, thinking as her professional took her hand and started filing her nails. "Being fixed," she decided. "And in the meantime, I do not need some street-rat witch-Bitch messing it all up, so if she were to start anything, I would personally – Oh my God, get your feet off of my dresser, right now!"

"I have open-toe shoes tonight," Rebekah said. "Lillian here needs to give me a pedicure."

"That's my brand new dresser," she said, "newly decorated, get your feet down!"

"Decorated?" Rebekah sniggered. "All you've got is some make up, a few cute ornaments, some fairy light along the top and... some Yankee candles... okay, it is quite pretty, but my feet are not going to mess that up."

"Feet down or get out," Katherine said, her voice rising. "I've been being nice all day and yesterday, you can do this one thing for me."

Rebekah sighed, rolling her eyes as she put her feet down. "Happy?"

"No, actually," Katherine said. "You've made me mad. Now Celeste is probably going to die tonight."

"That's the spirit," Caroline said. "Oh, by the way, I was hoping that... well, maybe tonight, I can really show Klaus my room, if you know what I mean?"

"I hardly ever do," Katherine said, as Rebekah wrinkled her nose, disgusted by the conversations turn. "But I do now. And Caroline, fine, I can stay with the Mikaelsons. But are you really sure you want to?"

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked.

"I mean, your nice, new room," Katherine sighed. "Are you sure you want to defile it so quickly?"

"Defile?" Rebekah asked. "Really?"

Caroline and Katherine exchanged looks. "Yeah," Katherine said. "You know, with the stains and everything?"

"Oh, God!" Rebekah said, her hands covering her ears.

"Is most likely what I'll say to Klaus tonight," Caroline laughed, as if continuing Rebekah's sentence.

"Can you not?" Rebekah asked.

"Is what Klaus'll say when she bites," Katherine laughed, with Caroline quickly joining in.

"Yeah, well what about you Katherine?" Caroline asked. "I mean, if Elijah and you leave first, then that's fine, but tell me, so I don't walk in when you're on his-"

"You've made me uncomfortable," Rebekah yelled. "You win, let's move on."

"No," said a voice at the door They all turned to see Elijah, leaning against the door frame. "Please, do continue, Caroline. When Katherine's on my what?"

Caroline had never turned redder, which made it only harder for her make-up artist who was trying to blend her foundation. "I was only trying to make Rebekah uncomfortable," Caroline said.

"Oh, yes, I understand that," he said, sighing. "It was very rude of you, but in return, Rebekah was very rude to interrupt you. One thing I hate is when people leave their sentences uncompleted. Do please continue."

Katherine knew that he was only trying to avenge his sister, by making Caroline uncomfortable, and it was definitely working. Poor Caroline looked on the verge of tears. "Um," she said, "well, I'... I'm actually going to go..." she crept away to the bathroom to avoid more awkwardness.

He clearly knew before hand what Caroline was planning on saying, he was just playing dumb to embarrass her further. "Oh, well what an interesting conversation I seemed to have walked in on."

"In her defence, it was about Klaus's sex life before," Katherine said.

"Yes, I heard that part on my way up," Elijah said. "Can we talk for a minute, Katerina, my dear?"

She got up and lead him over to her balcony. She had decorated the railings with fairy lights which were on, making the scene a little romantic. "What's up?" she asked.

"You are aware that this party is hosted by Celeste, yes?" he asked. She nodded, a pout on her face. "There will most likely be a point in the night when she would like to talk to me privately-"

"And you're what?" she asked. "Asking for my permission?"

He shook his head. "I'm asking for your trust," he said, brushing her hair away from her face. It was very windy out there, so it was lucky she was wearing hardly any make up, otherwise she would have it stuck to her lip-gloss.

"You want me to not get jealous is your ex lover drags you away from the party to her private quarter?" she asked. "Okay. It's not like we're a couple anyway."

She tried to walk back into her room, but Elijah pulled her to him and she fell into his chest. He held her hands like he would if he was dancing with her, and she made no attempt to push herself away from his muscular, suited torso. "Well, now you're clearly jealous," he said.

"Don't flatter yourself I just don't like her," she said. She turned to the door and saw Caroline, Rebekah and the staff, scuttling away from watching their conversation. She rolled her eyes, pulling away from him. "She's rude, bitchy, a desperate little homewrecking bitch who's leached herself onto you, which I guess makes sense," she heard her voice rising, "since you're an arrogant, selfish jackass who has no right to come in here and tell me what to feel and certainly has no right to think that I would be jealous of the bitch!" She turned back to the door and pulled it open. "Did you get all of that?" she yelled to the people inside, who were trying to act as though they weren't getting out of their seats so they could see them better as they eavesdropped on their conversation, "or was I speaking to quickly for you?"

"We got it all," Caroline said, after a pause.

"That was a fucking rhetorical question," Katherine said. "Do you not understand what a fucking rhetorical question is?"

Elijah pulled Katherine back outside before closing the curtains and doors. When he spoke it was in Bulgarian. "You're not mad at Caroline, and you'll regret yelling at her later," he said.

"Stop pretending that you know me," she said, also in her native tongue, forcing her voice to quieten down when she realised people on the street were looking at them in wonder. They spoke in Bulgarian from then on as to preserve their privacy.

"I _do_ know you," he said. "And you know me, probably better than anybody else out there knows either of us. You're not mad at Caroline and you're not mad at me. You're mad at Celeste."

"I'm not-"

"Katerina," he interrupted, giving her a look that forced the truth out of her.

She sighed. "How are we supposed to try and fix this relationship with her breathing down our necks and insisting that she fight for you?"

"I know," he said, compassionately. "I'll deal with her. Just... play nice tonight, all right, my love?"

"We'll see," she said, momentarily raising her eyebrows as she sucked on her teeth, walking back inside and opening the curtains. Rebekah and Caroline turned to her, worriedly. "Sorry for yelling at you," she said to Caroline in English.

 **Friday 06/10**

 **19:46pm**

 **The Combo**

14 minutes before the party started and the three girls were already drunk. They had been sipping the rest of the champagne throughout the evening, but as vampires, it would wear off and they would arrive to the party sober. They were all dressed and ready to go and they all looked incredible.

Caroline had promised Klaus a bare back and a little cleavage, and she delivered. Her floor length gown a pale green above her waist, where two thick strips covered her breasts and wrapped around the back of her neck. It was tight around her waist where is fell into a flimsy skirt that faded into blue. She wore blue heeled shoes with little beads and her hair was teased and fell into a thick plait over her shoulder. She had a blue bag with a bow on it and a thin strap over her shoulder. She wore the bracelet Klaus had given her for her birthday, along with a thicker silver bracelet on the other hand. She had dangling silver earrings, like the drapes of a willow tree and a necklace like silver flowers patterning her chest, between the two strips of fabric that cover her breasts.

So Rebekah wore a black gown, that was tight around her waist and showed off the curves of her breasts. It was a strapless thing, with a sweetheart neckline and little silver patterns around the top. After her waist, a flared out a little bit into multiple skirts flimsy skirts. Her high-heeled shoes were also black with straps around her ankles and toes and her blonde her hair fell down her back, slightly messy and mostly straight, with a little wave here and there and the front plaited and wrapped around the back. It fell down past her shoulder blades to the low beginning of her dress. She had a black clutch bag that was like a bow with the middle taken in. She wore a collection of silver and black bangles on one wrist, and a silver bracelet/ring on the other. She wore dangling pearl earrings and a silver necklace with a dark silver pendant that looked like a pair of angel wings crossing over eatchother.

Katherine wore a purple dress that looked like several pieces of flimsy purple fabric folding over eatchother into a tight waist and one sleeve above a high neckline, showing no cleavage but emphasising the shape of her breasts. Below the waist, the skirts all fell to the floor, covering all but on tan leg, right up to her thigh on the same side as her one sleeve. She wore purple shoes with a small wooden platform and big heel that had musical notes decorating it if one looked closely. Her hair was in a half-up, half-down style, with one curl over her face. She had a small purple bag with a gold chain strap across her shoulder and she wore a gold necklace with a gold pendant with silver diamonds that wrapped around itself a little like a pretzel but more like a triangle. She more matching stud earrings and a gold bracelet that looked like leaves folding over eatchother. She had a golden anklet on the visible ankle.

"We look hot," Caroline said, at they all faced eatchother.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Almost as soon as Katherine got rid of her bag at the coat check, Elijah pulled her onto the dance floor. He pulled her into a waltz that multiple couples were already dancing to all around them. Looking around, Katherine couldn't see Celeste, but she did see fairy lights wrapping around little trees that decorated the room, a colourful marble floor and high, pale marble ceiling with cherubs patterns and golden chandeliers. The venue was rented for the night, by the witches, most likely Celeste. It was the fanciest ballroom of a remote hotel on the outskirts of town.

"You won't see her until she wants to be seen," Elijah said, noticing Katherine looking for her. She went along with the dance, but her mind was distracted at the thought of Celeste coming down and whisking Elijah away from her.

"Bullshit," Katherine murmured. "I'm Katherine Pierce. I'm the one she should be afraid of."

"I quite agree," he said. "I know what you're capable of. She doesn't. Don't blame her for her own ignorance."

She sighed, looking at him. "You know what this whole affair reminds me of? A few years ago, when I revealed to the pesky Salvatores that I was alive, I spent my time trying to scare Elena away from Stefan. That's what she's trying to do to me. Bitch thinks I'm afraid of her."

"More proof of her fatal ignorance," Elijah said. "You look exquisite tonight, by the way." She looked at him, pouting. He was wearing a Tuxedo that wasn't that different from his normal dark suits, except with a bow-tie. That was crooked. She straightened it for him.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. Whenever she stepped right her leg slipped out of the slit in her dress, making Elijah's pupils dilate. Again, with the emotions only being shown in his eyes. "Am I being unfair to you?"

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean..." she paused. "I'm waiting to be with you again, because I don't feel like I can fully trust you again, and I don't think it will take that long, but in the meantime, do I get the right to... get jealous of the idea of you being with Celeste?"

He paused. "You have the right to feel whatever you want," he said. "If it's a combination of mistrust and jealousy, then so be it. But understand this: I am in love with _you_. I do not feel the same way about Celeste as I did centuries ago. I am not interested in her any more. I am all yours. I promise."

She smiled. "Perfect." They danced on, edging closer and closer together. Elijah gave several men a look that would kill when they noticed her bare leg. Katherine noticed but didn't try to stop him. He was adorable when jealous. She wondered is he thought the same about her. But she wasn't cute when she was jealous, she was dangerous.

But despite eatchothers jealousy throughout the dance, they were clearly where they were supposed to be – in eatchothers arms. Their fingers linked together, her perfectly manicured hand resting on his shoulder and his arm, slipping tighter and tighter around her waist. After a while, and several songs blended into one dance later, his forehead was leaning against hers and they hands, holding eatchother, were right by their shoulders and both of them were smiling. A true, genuine smile, which was rare for both of them.

"Excuse me," someone said behind her. Katherine turned, sighing to meet Celeste.

"I thought I smelled an animal," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Celeste just smirked. "Funny," she said, before turning to Elijah. "Can I borrow you for a minute?" Elijah kissed the temple of a pouting, grumpy Katherine before following Celeste away from the party. Katherine couldn't help but hate how pretty she looked that night. The witch was wearing a shiny gold dress that was wrapped tightly around her waist and had a slight mermaid tale affect after her knees. Her hair was straightened and falling down her back and she was draped in gold jewellery.

"If it's any consolation," said a voice at her ear, "I hate her too." Katherine turned to Rebekah before sighing. "Let's go and get a drink."

-0-0-0-0-0-

Klaus' hand on her bare back as they danced made her skin tingle. Even when she was in heels, he was taller than her, so she was looking up at him as they danced. "I can not believe we're really a couple now," she said. "I mean, it's the realest thing for me, but at the same time... I expected it to take longer, you know? I've only been in New Orleans for a few weeks and I expected it to take a few months."

"Every moment with you feels like forever," he said. "I think when you're faced with a situation like ours we can only dance around it for so long before the music stops playing."

"What do you mean?" she asked, not quite understanding the metaphor.

"I mean we had to really face it eventually," he said. "Our relationship, that is. And when you came to New Orleans, we really faced what we were, and what we wanted to be, and it didn't take long before we realized we both wanted this. We wanted eatchother."

"God, you really have a way with words," she said. "And art. Can I have another horse?"

He smiled. "What about something original, Love?"

"Like you?" she grinned.

"I'm not very good at self portraits," he said. "I can never get my mouth right."

Caroline paused before deciding to tease him a little. "Well, what about Kol? Do you think we can get him to pose naked?" Klaus face fell before turned and broke away. Caroline laughed, pulling him back to her. "I'm kidding," she laughed. "I'm only playing with you!"

Klaus laughed, wiping away his pretend anger. "I'll think of something to draw for you," he said. "It's a tradition, after all. For every ball we attend, I must draw you something new."

"Champagne's also a tradition of ours," she smiled, picking up two glasses from a tray a waiter was carrying around and handing one to Klaus. He was wearing a Tuxedo, and she loved him in it, looking all smart. They clinked glasses and linked arms before drinking.

"Looks like everyone's having fun," Klaus said. Caroline looked around, trying to spot everyone they came there with. Finn was dancing with a very pretty brunette girl in a very sexy dress with a plunging neckline; Rebekah and Katherine were at one end of the bar, ending their wine supply; Kol was at the other end of the bar as a cute, Japanese girl gave him her number and he held it up, smiling at her and thanking her; Elijah was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's go and ask Katherine where Elijah is," Caroline said, lifting up her skirt a little to go over to the bar.

"Celeste dragged him off," Rebekah said, when Caroline asked. "Now Katherine's grumpy."

"I am not grumpy," she defended herself, grumpily.

Finn and Kol approached them, curiously. "What's going on?" Finn asked.

"We're dancing," Katherine said, standing up and dragging Finn over to the dance floor as a new song started playing. "I'm bored, don't question me." As the song was rather fast, they basically waltzed, like everyone else, but quicker, and spinning a lot more. Both Finn and Katherine were talented dancers.

"Everyone split up," Caroline whispered to the small group left at the bar. "We look weird." She followed Klaus back onto the dance floor and Rebekah got up to find someone to dance with, but Kol put a hand out to stop her.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, sitting back down. He sat next to her and ordered himself a scotch on the rocks.

"If I ask you something personal, will you be honest with me?" he asked as she ordered herself another glass of wine.

"Depends on what it is," she said.

He paused. "Why did you hate every woman who fell for either Elijah, Finn, Niklaus or I?"

Now Rebekah paused. "Why?"

"Because I can't figure it out," he said. "I was talking to Elijah the other day, and I couldn't figure out why you hated them all before but you don't hate them now."

There was a long silence. "Niklaus killed almost every man I was passionate about. He never gave me the chance to have love, he never let me care about anyone for too long. So I never let myself love. I played with men... you've known me for 1000 years Kol. You know I rely on my looks to play with them. But then these pretty girls come along and work their way into this family and suddenly, they were the centre of attention. Celeste, Tatia, Katherine, Caroline... Meanwhile, I wasn't allowed to love and I became everyone's second favourite."

"You're not," he said. "Elijah always puts his family first, I would always put you first. So would Finn. And Klaus..."

"Klaus is a jack ass," she said, finishing her wine and ordering another one. "And Finn? Bullshit. He always chose Sage over us, remember? And I'm not saying I want to be everyone's centre of attention. I just don't want to be the second favourite. That's not even the main reason, you know?"

"What is?" Kol asked.

There was another pause. "On those rare occasions where Klaus let me love, he let me get hurt. Every time. Marcel ended up putting me last; choosing Vampirism over me... Stefan. He chose that doppelgänger bitch over me. Matt Donovan hated what I was... love is pointless and painful and it sucks. But I watch Elijah and Klaus give their hearts away and I wonder why they don't know any better. People destroy hearts."

"So why are you excepting Katherine and Caroline now?" Kol asked. "After 1000 years of hating every woman who's come near us, why change now?"

"Why do you care?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Because I love you. Because I'm putting you first, because you're my sister and I can about you. And maybe I'm not sure about Caroline and Katherine, and I'm asking for your opinion because yours is the only opinion, other than my own, that really matters to me."

She was silent for a while as her blonde hair fell over her bare shoulders. "Because I've taken a good look at Caroline and Katherine. I've really seen then, and they way they look out our brothers. I've seen that look before. It's the look I get when I fall in love, and when I see it on their faces, I know they would never hurt the hearts of our brothers."

"Well, what about the attention thing?" Kol asked.

Rebekah shrugged. "I'm 1000 years old. It's about time I grew up and started acting like it."

Katherine pulled away from Finn, her second favourite dance partner. "Pleasure dancing with you," he said, kissing her hand.

"The same to you," Katherine said, smiling as someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to see one of the witches – Sophie – behind her.

"Katherine Pierce, right?" Sophie asked. "I need to talk to you."

Katherine's face fell. "Why?"

"I think it's time we officially met-"

"Why?" Katherine pressed.

Finn stepped up next to her, supportively. "I would answer her if I were you," he said to Sophie.

"Or what?" she said, squaring her shoulders. "You're the innocent brother. This is between Katherine and I."

There was a pause before Katherine flashed away from the party, her hand around Sophie's throat. Finn followed them to the hallway going off of the dance floor, where Katherine was pinning the witch against the wall. "I am not afraid of killing you," she growled.

She tried to do the spell that caused multiple aneurysms in her fast-healing body but she was immune to it so she did it to Finn. Katherine slammed Sophie into the wall and growled. "Yeah, you better stop that, honey," she said.

"Celeste wants you," Sophie croaked, becoming afraid and letting Finn go. "I'm just a messenger!"

Katherine sighed, letting her go and turning to Finn, who had gotten to his feet. Katherine tried to walk past him but noticed his vampire face was making an appearance. He growled before pouncing on Sophie, his fangs burrying themselves into her neck. Katherine pulled him away before Sophie died. "Hey, we can't kill her," she said. "We made need a spell done in the future."

Finn turned to her, looking mildly scared. "I apologize... will you heal her? I need to clean up." He left to clean the blood off of his face and mouth as Katherine healed Sophie before going to find Finn.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," Finn said.

"Okay. I better go meet Elijah's ex."

He held out his hand to stop her when she tried to walk past him. "Should I come?" he asked. "For back up?"

"I think we just established I can take care of myself," she smirked. "Besides, what if she did magic? You'd be screwed."

"Can you show me how to resist that?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Sure, another time. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Hello?" Katherine called, walking into the room Sophie lead her to. "Celeste? You wanted to chat?"

"I did," Celeste said, stepping out from behind a curtain.

Katherine sniggered. "Bit Wizard of Oz for you?" she asked, before walking up to her and squaring her shoulders. She was about an inch taller than the witch in her heels.

"You don't intimidate me," Celeste said. "I need something from you."

"Let me guess," Katherine said, holding up her finger and smiling. "You want me to get out of Elijah's life so you can have him all to yourself." She giggled. "Good luck with that."

"Not exactly," Celeste said. She touched Katherine wrist before jumping back. "What are you?"

"My, my, what a rude question," Katherine laughed. "Ex traveller, doppelgänger, vampire. Now, listen here. I've loved Elijah for much longer than you have, and just because he fell for you a few centuries ago, does not change where his heart lies. You did a terrible job while I was busy, but now it's time for you to step aside and let me take care of what's mine."

"He loved you, yes," Celeste agreed. "He still does. But I'm going to be with him in the end. I'm going to be his last, and most epic love, and you will be nothing but a memory."

"Oh, poor Celeste, that's where you're wrong," Katherine said. "I'm not a pit stop, I'm a destination. There is no way Elijah would leave me, other than my death, and so help me God, if you even think about trying to kill me I will kill you and every witch in New Orleans before tracking down your blood-line, I remember how fussy witches can be about their blood, and I will kill everyone who is even distantly related to you."

"I don't think you as much of a bitch as you're pretending to be," she said.

"Well you don't know me that well, do you?" Katherine asked. "You have no idea what I'm capable of, so if I were you I'd start behaving myself and stop being such an annoying little homewrecker."

Celeste paused. "I didn't call you in here to talk about Elijah," she said. "I want your blood."

"Doesn't everyone?" Katherine asked. "Get to the back of the line."

"I want to use your blood," Celeste continued, "to bind Rebekah, Finn, Kol and Klaus together. I want them dead."

Katherine sniggered. "Trust me, I know where you're coming from, but I can't help you. I mean, I _can_ , but I don't want to."

"The Originals are corrupting this town," the witch said, walking over to a Grimoire and reading it. "I think Esther had the right idea. Link the Originals, kill them. Of course I'm still waiting for my happily ever after with Elijah, so he won't be linked. I need to spell your blood before putting it in the wine the other four will drink. Originally I was going to lure you in here and take your blood, but I know you're much too powerful to be overcome by a knife. So I went with plan B."

"You're a crazy bitch," Katherine said. "What do you mean by plan B?" When Celeste just winked at her Katherine ran at her, pinning her against the wall by her throat, breaking a bone with the force.

"You're a slut," she croaked.

"Go fuck yourself," Katherine said. "Because Elijah sure as Hell isn't going to!"

Rebekah and Caroline came running in at that moment and sighed with relief. "Oh, good, you're okay," Caroline said, her hand meeting her forehead. "Finn told us you went to meet the bitch-face." The two blondes stood behind either of Katherine's shoulders, facing Celeste. "What happened?" Caroline asked.

"She wanted my blood so she can link Rebekah, Kol, Finn and Klaus and kill them," Katherine explained.

"But to kill us you'd need the White-Oak-stake," Rebekah said. Her face fell in realisation. "Someone's over there stealing it right now, aren't they?"

Celeste nodded. "Oh, and I didn't lure poor Katherine up here to get her blood. I wanted to kill her. I already have her blood."

"How?" Katherine asked.

"Silas's body," Celeste explained. "When he drained your body of blood, not only did he get the cure, but the Petrova doppelgänger blood as well as the Salvatore doppelgänger. I dug up his body. It's already in the champagne. You're too late. I have some left over. Under heavy protection of course."

Rebekah pulled Celeste's head back and slammed it into the wall, knocking her out before turning to the other two vampires. "Caroline, the thief is probably going to bring the stake through the back entrance. Go and get it. Katherine, stop everyone, _everyone_ , from drinking the champagne. I'm going to find the rest of yours/Silas' blood. Go!"

They all split up.

Rebekah quickly found a witch, who was looking very secretive, to follow to the basement. After a long walk down a cold, stone hallway, the witch went into an iron room. Rebekah got to the door and overheard the conversation inside.

"Why are we all blindly following that Celeste girl again?" she heard one of the witches inside ask. "All she wants is to screw that Original. She's against us!"

"Harriet," someone scolded. "She wants the Originals dead. So do we. And unlike us, she has an actual plan!"

"A plan that's about to get ruined," Rebekah said, breaking the door down and strutting in, heels clicking on the floor. "Where is the rest of the doppelgänger blood?"

The witches all looked at a certain spot on the wall, ever so briefly before their eyes flicked back to her, terrified.

"That's all I needed to know," Rebekah said. They all started chanting and one held out their hands, as if casting something on her. Rebekah realized that one was channelling the others, to try and bring Rebekah down. The Original reached into her neck and pulled out her spine. She flicked it like a whip, crouching in her skirts and using the spine to whip their faces, breaking all of their necks with her vampire strength before the spine broke. She dropped it, facing all of the dead, bloody witches. "Ew," she said. "Never done that before." She wiped her hand, impressed at how she didn't get any blood on her dress. She looked over to the spot on the wall where there was a safe that she broke into and found three blood bags in. She pulled them out and smelled them. There were faint traces of Katherine. She bought them back upstairs.

By the time Katherine got into the ballroom, some witch was on the stage, making a toast and everyone was raising their champagne. She saw all four of the Mikaelson brothers raise their glass.

"To fresh starts," said the witch on stage, concluding whatever the hell she was talking about. Everyone raised their glasses to their lips. _Stop everyone,_ everyone, _from drinking the champagne_ , Rebekah had said.

"Stop!" Katherine said, running awkwardly on stage and holding her hands up, snatching the microphone away from the witch. "Don't drink the champagne!"

She saw Elijah's head fall into the palm of his hand, and saw the other brothers all raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"The champagne is not okay," she said, trying to not laugh.

"I think you've had a little bit too much to drink," one woman called out. Some people laugh but Katherine recognised her.

"Yeah, you would know. What is it? Three D.U.I's now?"

The crowd Oohed and called out 'Oh snap!'. Katherine just rolled her eyes.

Elijah ran onto the stage and took the microphone away from her, covering it before he asked her, more worried than angry: "How much have you had to drink?"

"Not that much," she defended herself. "How do I even seem drunk? I just said the champagne was not okay! That's not a very drunk thing to do! Listen, Celeste did something to the champagne! She's trying to kill your siblings because thinks that they're corrupting New Orleans or some shit. Probably more likely because they've been keeping her away from you. I'm just doing the right thing. You're welcome."

Caroline waited, patiently by the back door, wondering if she was right in thinking that the thief would come that way. She heard Katherine on stage and laughed, thinking about how much she was going to make fun of Katherine later.

Finally a couple men, about six foot tall, each of them approached the door, one twirling the stake in his hands. "I'll take that," Caroline said, confidently, holding out her hand for the stake.

They looked at eatchother, doubtfully before back at her. "No way, sweetheart, just move out of the way," the one with the stake said, patronizingly. She straightened her shoulder and thrust her hand out further, pouting.

"Give it to me, now," she said, veins creeping up below her eyes and her fangs extracting with anger. She used to hate her vampire face, fear it. But now she relished in it. Loved being scary.

"Vampire," the man without the stake said to the other.

"I can see that," the other one said.

"I like to think I'm one of the good ones," she said. "But if you don't give me that stake, right now, it will be used to kill my friends and me, so I will not have to feel guilty about ripping both of your hearts out and shoving them down your throats. Give me that stake!"

They didn't oblige, so she reached into their chests and pulled out their hearts, holding them away from her easily stained dress. She threw the hearts back into the bodies and dragged them away into a closet. She took the white-oak-stake and turned around, slamming into Klaus's chest. "Lookie what I got," she said, handing him the stake.

After that Kol sought of took over things. He apologised to the crowd for Katherine's outburst, but explained that something bad was in the champagne. He swapped their glasses and made a new toast, about people working together in harmony. Celeste had, apparently, one last trick up her sleeve. Katherine, Caroline and Rebekah were all stood together at the door of the party, talking about teaming up to defeat evil witches more often. Katherine was about to break away to find Elijah but Rebekah wanted to quickly say something first.

"Thank you," the blonde said. "You really helped save my family tonight which is more than I would ever expect of you."

"Don't worry about it," Katherine said. "Anything to piss of Celeste, really."

"Look at you guys," Caroline mused, punching Rebekah and Katherine gently on the arm. "Slowly becoming friends..."

"Yeah, you killed it," Rebekah nodded.

"See you girls later," Katherine winked, turning away. "Oh and Caroline – you might want to stay with Klaus tonight. Just saying."

Caroline rolled her eyes and turned back to Rebekah as Katherine left. "You want to get one last drink or-"

They heard, with their vampire hearing, a crash and a stumble coming from where Katherine was. They heard her groan and ran toward her. Rebekah instantly noticed a suited figure with dark hair pinning Katherine against the wall and raising a wooden stake above her heart as Katherine got out of his grip. Rebekah lunged forward and pulled the man off her, throwing him to the floor as Katherine took the stake off him. Katherine raised the stake, directing it to the man's heart and was about to kill him when Caroline stopped her. "DON'T! You'll get the curse!"

Rebekah recognised the suited man to be Wren. He pulled another stake out of his belt but Rebekah wrestled it off him. "What the Hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.

"That's the Hunter, right?" Katherine asked. Caroline had protectively put her arm in front of Katherine, keeping her away from the Hunter but Katherine ignored it.

"Yeah," Rebekah said, looking down at her boyfriend, disgusted. Caroline lead Katherine away and Rebekah almost stayed to talk to Wren but she had to go and speak to Klaus instead, so she made it quick. "She's my friend," Rebekah spat. "You stay the Hell away from her!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

Elijah and Katherine went upstairs to find, and kill, Celeste, but the witch had woken up and fled and was no where to be seen. Caroline was helping Finn load the bodies into his car and Rebekah had dragged Klaus outside.

"I have something you might be interested in," she said, as they stood in the courtyard of the hotel.

"What is it?" he asked, his hands behind his back as he studdied her, wondering what she could have possibly acquired during the party. She pulled three, full, blood-bags out from behind her bag and held them up for him to see. "A snack?" he asked.

"Human Petrova doppelgänger blood," she said. "Well, partially. Also mixed with Silas' blood and extracted from his dead body, so I'm betting it won't make the best snack."

He paused. "I don't understand."

"When Katherine was human she became the cure," Rebekah said. "Silas drained her of her blood and became destructible. He was killed, and this blood was taken, by Celeste out of his dead body." She held up one of the bags and admired it. "It's hardly human doppelgänger blood, but it is partially. It'll be able to make your hybrids. Of course, not many. I mean, this is hardly that much blood, but a shot each should do it. It'll make a few. Add them with a few vampires and you've got yourself a kingdom. That's what you want, isn't it?"

Klaus paused, eyeing the blood. "What do you want?"

"Why must I want something, Nik?" she asked. "Can't I just do my brother a selfless favour?"

"I know you, sister," he said. "Nothing you do is completely selfless. And wasn't it just last month I daggered you and stuck you in a box? Why aren't you drinking that blood in hopes it'll make you human? That's what you want, isn't it?"

Rebekah sniggered. "I went through a phase. Sue me. I've decided I'm much better off as a vampire. And if you don't want it-"

"I want it," he said, holding his hand out for them.

She held them back. "You're right. I don't do anything completely selflessly."

"That's why I asked you what you wanted," Klaus growled, his temper rising.

She sniggered at his anger. "Calm down. All I want is you're understanding." At his confused look, she continued. "I want you to understand that I'm handing over an indestructible army. I'm handing you power, strength, a kingdom. That, along with Caroline... it's all you've ever wanted, isn't it? I want you to think about the fact that _I_ am the one giving that to you next time you think about daggering me and locking me away. Next time you kill someone I've grown attached to. I want you to understand that I show you nothing but love and you give me nothing but pain."

"You want to play the victim," he asked, but she could tell he was feeling more solemn than before. Was that... was he even a little regretful?

"I am the victim," she said. "I want you to understand that!"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for putting you away to spare you of the harshness that is this world, while trying to create a better one for you to live in. I'm sorry for not taking any of your temper tantrums seriously. I'm sorry for trying to protect you. I'm sorry for destroying every man who was cheating on you behind you back, or had a history of abusing past lovers. But most of all: I'm sorry that you can't see how I've been protecting you all of these years."

She paused, before pressing the blood-bags into his hand. "Enjoy your family, Nik."

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I owe you my thanks," Elijah said, as his stepped out into the courtyard, Katherine holding courteously onto his arm. "You helped save my siblings tonight. I wouldn't have though that of you." Katherine smirked, remembering Rebekah saying the same thing. She didn't tell Elijah about the Hunter. It was clear from the blonde's eye-contact with him that they were an item and she didn't want to be the one to blab to Rebekah's family.

"I can be good sometimes," she sighed. She looked over at him, seriously. "Emphasis on the word 'sometimes'. Don't expect anything from me, okay?"

They paused in front of a small fountain. He brushed the curl from her face and looked down to her bare leg before back up into her eyes. "I love you," he said, flatly, leaning his forehead on hers, like he did when they dance. "I love you, Katerina."

"I love you, too," she said. She reached up and pulled him down into a kiss, deep, hot and passionate. And in almost no time, her back was falling against her own bed in the apartment. He looked curiously around her room, the lit candles and music already playing. He had picked up and ran with her to the apartment. She had had no time to do all of that romantic stuff.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

She smirked. "I compelled one of those people we hired to stick around and set it all up. She would have left about five minute ago."

He paused, before leaning down and kissing her, feeling her bare leg wrapping around his waist. "You were expecting tonight to go like this?" he asked.

"More like hoping," she said, sliding off his jacket and undoing his bow-tie. In return he undid her dress and pulled the top half down to her waist, his hand sliding up her tan leg. She unbuttoned his shirt and found the toned, muscular torso she had so missed. She flipped them around so that she was on top.

"I love you," she whispered again.

"I love you, too," he said, as she leaned down to kiss him.

* * *

 **Reminder that I'm making up my own Celeste Storyline.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **This chapter, being really long, took me really long to write, so please, please review! -Izzy  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**I almost completely forgot it was Saturday and I was meant to update. I'm kind of distracted with other stories and annoying parents and surprise party planning and monster spiders invading Britain. Sorry.  
**

 **In response to reviews: For those who don't know I have kinda finished this story (more or less) on Word Document on my computer but didn't want to story to end so kinda continued it in a sequel that (right now) is pretty much for me, but I will publish it after this story has been finished. There will be a little Koltherine in the sequel to add to the drama, but overall this is Kalijah which will be endgame. There will also be Stebekah vs Mabekah, Kennett, Fage/Sinn/Finage (whatever their ship name is nowadays), Enzo (crushing on Caroline, but pretty much alone). If you want any more ships, let me know in the reviews. There WON'T be any Stelena/Delena. Too much drama. Damon and Elena won't even be in the fic. But other than that, let me know what you would be interested in.**

* * *

 **Chapter NINETEEN**

 **Saturday 07/10**

 **09:31am**

 **The Combo**

The see-through white curtains of her make-shift bed canopy were drawn shut, keeping the couple in the bed, buried in pillows and duvets, often getting lost as the moved around user the sheets. Katherine giggled whenever Elijah kissed somewhere ticklish as he enjoyed her body. He got out of the bed but leaned back over to chastely kiss her.

"Where are you going?" she asked, complaining at his absence.

He sighed. "To make you coffee," he said.

She inhaled, slowly. "Okay, fine. But be quick." When he left, she sat up, wrapping a stray sheet around herself as she opened the curtains around her bed and crossed the hall to her bathroom where she brushed her teeth. She went back into her room and picked up her phone, checking her texts.

 **If you have plans for today, cancel them. Meet me at Home Bargains at 11. Love you! Xoxo – C. PS: don't tell anyone!**

Caroline had slept at Klaus' the night before so Katherine could spend the night with Elijah in private. Katherine rolled her eyes. What secret mission did Caroline want her for now.

"Hey," she said, strutting naked into the kitchen to meet naked Elijah who was pouring coffee. "Got any plans for today?"

"I was hoping to spend the day in bed with you," he said, pulling her towards him and holding her there.

"Well then I have bad news," she said, regretfully. "Caroline needs me at Home Bargains, and as much as I want to be with you all day, she apparently needs me. Oh, and I wasn't supposed to tell you about this. Don't tell anyone?"

"Okay," he said, kissing her forehead. "But I get you all night tonight?"

She paused. "Hopefully."

"Sounds promising," he said, handing her her coffee.

 **Saturday 07/10**

 **Noon**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn gasped, turning back out of the room and leaning against the wall outside. The smell of blood, human blood, was filling his senses. Klaus had just thrown his discarded breakfast onto the coffee table. He couldn't go in there and not finish that for him. He held his breath, refusing to inhale the scent. No matter how hard he wanted it, he had to leave the human blood alone.

"Have you seen Rebekah today or has she pissed off somewhere to sulk?" Klaus asked as Finn walked in.

"Sulk about what?" Rebekah asked, strutting in behind him. "Our little squabble? Stop being arrogant enough to think that you have the power to bring me down."

"The loss of your brother, not being enough to wound you?" he asked, his hand touching his chest, like he was hurt by her lack of caring.

She smirked. "Loss of brother?" she asked. "Well that's a little dramatic, but all right then." She leaned on the back of the couch he was sat on. "You do know what that means, don't you?"

"And what's that?" he asked.

"It means you can never come to me again," she said. "For anything. No more dating advice about Caroline. No more help with your enemies, or help with your armies. Don't come to me with your anger or happiness or sadness or lonliness. You can't even throw anything in with my laundry any more. And you certainly can _not_ talk to or touch any man that I am involved with in the future. No more protective big brother act, no more punishment. Nothing."

"From now on," he nodded, "we don't even know eatchother."

"What happened between you two?" Finn asked.

Rebekah shrugged. "I gave him his kingdom."

Finn paused. "Well that sounds about right for this family," he said.

 **Saturday 07/10**

 **13:42pm**

 **The Forest**

"If she wants to be an 'independent' stubborn bitch, it's her life choices," Klaus said, stepping over a high root. "Give her a few days and she'll come running back. She always does."

"I'm confused though," Kol said. "She gave you what you wanted all your life, and all she asked for was that you understand that she loves you?"

"I know she loves me," Klaus said, as if his sisters love was the most inconvenient thing in the world. "But she wanted an unnecessary apology."

"But you apologized to me," Finn pointed out, following behind Klaus and Kol through the woods. "And you apologized to Kol. Why not Rebekah?"

Klaus stopped walking and turned, growling. "Rebekah wanted an apology for my hard work over the years to protect her."

Finn and Kol exchanged a look, knowing that Klaus was just being a dick. "Well, we're not taking sides," Kol said. "I hope that's okay with you."

"I'm not asking you to take sides," Klaus said. "Why isn't Elijah here, helping his brother?"

"He went out with Rebekah this morning," Finn said. "So what's the plan?"

Klaus sighed as he stepped over another root. "I'm going to have a nice conversation with the Alpha. Caroline made me promise only to turn the ones that want to be turned, so I'm going to have to try and sell this." Kol made a whipping sound that made Finn chuckle. "Don't even go there, Kol. I at least won the argument about whether or not to keep them sired."

"But still..." Kol said, as the three brothers walked onto the camp-site of about twenty or so werewolves, all wandering around, getting on with their day. They turned to the brothers, assuming they were just usual hikers, until they smelled them, knowing that they were vampires. They all backed away.

"I request to speak with your alpha," Klaus called out to them. They all eyed him suspicious until he added: "I come in peace."

One of the wolves paused before calling out: "Joseph, take him to see Ezra."

Another of the wolves beckoned to Klaus to follow him before leading him to a tent in the centre of the camp, right behind the camp fire. Everyone watched as Joseph peeked through the tent doors. "Sir, a vampire here to see you," he said. A few seconds later, the alpha stood up and out of his tent, facing Klaus. He had messy black hair and blue eyes and looked very muscular under his black t-shirt and shorts and wrist cuffs.

He held his hand out to Klaus. "I know you," he said. "Original hybrid. Klaus, isn't it?"

"You know me?" Klaus asked, shaking his hand. "Good, that will save us a lot of time. How, may I ask?"

"Last month a girl came to us, looking for aid," Ezra said. "Pregnant, goes by Hayley. We turned her away when her hormones got the better of her anger and she tried to kill one of our own."

"She was one for betrayal," Klaus said. "Is there somewhere we can talk privately? I have a proposition you may be interested in."

Kol had already made friends with most of the werewolves. He was told to stay outside while Klaus went into the tent to advertise being a hybrid while Finn stayed with him to keep him happy and calm. Kol made his way around, introducing himself and asking about being a werewolf, showing an interest in their lives. He managed to charm his way in to several people's list of friends and a few girl's hearts.

Finally, after hours of talking, the alpha came out of his tent and called for his wolves to listen. "Klaus Mikaelson, an Original, has made an interesting proposition to us," he called out to his pack. Kol went to go and stand behind Ezra, next to Klaus and Finn. "I would listen carefully, as I think you all may be interested in this."

He then proceeded to advertise the perks of being a hybrid to his pack. He talked about immortality first, being able to live forever as a young, healthy person. He then talked about increased speed and strength, talking about how they would be even stronger than vampires. He talked about how human blood was not necessary to their diet and that they could survive on animal blood if it was more comfortable for them as a lifestyle.

"How do we know this isn't a trick?" one of the wolves called out.

"I asked that," Ezra called. "But mythology doesn't lie. So who's in?"

It was surprising how many people followed Ezra blindly and raised their hand, willing to be turned. Klaus smiled.

Ezra then spent the rest of the afternoon showing Klaus around the pack, introducing him to each individual werewolf which Klaus greeted as an equal. Ezra introduced him to two pregnant werewolves that were going to have to be turned after giving birth. Klaus took everyone through the procedure and Kol secretly texted Caroline that it seemed to be going really well.

 **Saturday 07/10**

 **15:28pm**

 **The French Quarter**

Rebekah waited five minutes on the park bench before she saw Wren walk up to her, his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket. He wore skinny jeans, a white shirt and no tie. His hair was messy and he looked sad. "Hi," he said, sitting down next to her and leaning his elbows on his knees.

"Couples argue," Rebekah started. "All the time, they argue. I knew we would argue. At the end of the day you're a human and I'm a vampire and you're a vampire hunter... which of us is the prey and which is the predator?"

"Neither," Wren said. "Not if we care enough about each other-"

"But I really don't," Rebekah said. "I fell in love with a hunter before and that ended badly. I'm too cautious around you, to careful. I can never trust you or be truly, wholeheartedly happy around you." There was a short pause. "Especially since you tried to kill my friend."

"That witch, Celeste," Wren said. "She told me, she paid me to-"

"I don't give a damn," Rebekah said. "Celeste is an enemy of my family's."

"I didn't know that!" Wren said. "Look... She told me of Katherine, the evil, 500-year-old vampire and paid me to kill her. I'm still a hunter, Rebekah. I'm still going to kill vampires."

Rebekah paused before sniggering. "Fine. But if I sat here and told you that I'm still a vampire and still going to kill humans, you would hate me."

"That's different," he said. "Humans – the majority of them – are innocent."

"That's where you're wrong," Rebekah laughed. "Humans are just as evil as vampires. And they blame vampires for their problems but they, themselves, are the source of evil. Not all of them, granted, but so many of them. Instead of saving humanity from vampires, try saving humanity from itself."

There was a long pause. "So what do I do to make this right?"

"Nothing," Rebekah whispered. "You'll never trust me, Wren. You'll never stop seeing me as a monster. And I'll never be able to trust you... not around me, not around my friends, not around my family. I was foolish to date a hunter again."

"What, you're breaking up with me now?" he asked, shocked.

She just nodded. "Yeah, I am. I'm ending this before I get hurt for real. We're just too different. And my gut kept telling me to break away, to leave you and run. But I gave you a chance, Wren, and you fucked it up."

"You gave me a chance?" he said. "All I've done was give you chances! Chances to not be the monster I first thought you were!"

She scoffed. "Yeah, you're an asshole. Just like the rest of them." She stood up and sighed. "See, maybe if you didn't go after Katherine we could have soughted this mess out. Yes, you prepared to stab me with a stake in the kitchen... but you can do whatever to me. The minute you lay a hand on one of my friends-"

"Friend?" Wren asked, standing up as well. "That's strange. I thought you hated her."

"Times change," Rebekah said. "At least I'm trying to make peace with one of my enemies! And we'll never get there while I'm dating the man who tried to kill her."

"Can't we try?" Wren asked.

"We did!" Rebekah said. "Lord knows I tried so hard. Then you prepared to kill me. You tried to kill my friend. We met when you tried to get me to kill my own family. I am worth so much more than this. I'm putting everyone I love first by doing this, Wren."

"Don't do this," Wren said taking one of her hands. "I know it's soon but... I love you, Rebekah Mikaelson."

There was a long pause where Rebekah's facial expressions didn't change. "That's not my problem," she said after a gulp. She pulled her hand away and flashed back home.

 **Saturday 07/10**

 **20:05pm**

 **The Condo**

Katherine and Caroline had been busy all day with the surprise and both of them were excited to present it – even Katherine. Rebekah sat across from them on the couches in the living room as they all finished a bottle of wine as she complained about her brother.

"I give him what he wanted for one thousand years," she said, "and he decides that with it, he has no room for me any more. The bitch."

"I completely agree," Katherine said, swirling her finger around the rim of her glass.

Caroline paused. "I know Klaus is in the wrong," she said, "but this will all blow over soon, so I'm not going to take sides."

"That's fine," Rebekah said. "I'm not asking you to. I just don't want to go home tonight. He's just going to be there and... But I have to because things are fucked up between me and Wren." She had officially opened up to the girls about Wren and how they broke up.

Katherine and Caroline exchanged looks. "We have good news," Caroline grinned, standing up and holding her hand out to Rebekah. "You don't have to go home. Let's go."

"Go where?" Rebekah asked, curiously.

"Down the hall," Katherine said, standing up and straightening her blue tank top. "I mean it, let's journey out in this glorious adventure to the other room."

Rebekah followed Katherine down the hall with Caroline dragging her along by her hand. Katherine opened the door to the utility room and stood aside for Rebekah to walk in and look around in a sought of trance.

On the wall opposite the door the window had been decorated with pretty curtains and a small window seat with silk cusions. To the left of the window couch was a yellow desk that had a vintage lamp on it, along with a couple pencil pots. On the wall next to it were some shelves with a couple of ornaments on. On the right of the window couch was a little table with a bookshelf between the legs. There were more ornaments, a box of tissues and another lamp, this one a little taller, on it. On that wall was some art and a wooden clock. To the right of the door, the ceiling begin to slant and under the slant was a white bed, with patterned white sheets and several throw pillows, all with white as their primary colour, including some fluffy pillows and bedspreads. There was a small, white bedside table with a lava lamp on top and a mirror behind it. There was a small shelf above the head of the bed with different types of crystals on it. There was a fluffy white rug on a hardwood floor and a trail of fairy lights around the corner of the slants on the ceiling and around to the pink curtains.

"What's all this?" Rebekah asked, feeling one of the fluffy throw pillows.

"We were going to try and make it fancy and classical," Caroline shrugged. "But we saw some designs and got a little side-tracked with what I wanted. Sorry."

"No, no, it's perfect," Rebekah said, still stunned. "Why...?"

"Because you're our friend," Katherine said. "We knew things would get awkward at home. Here's your getaway. Surprise!"

"Oh my God," Rebekah said, beginning to smile.

"You like it!" Caroline exclaimed. "Group hug!" Despite both Katherine's and Rebekah's protests about not being huggers, Caroline pulled them into a group hug which they soon, reluctently returned.

"Okay, so," Katherine said, when they split up, "my bathrooms closest to you, so you can use it, but wash it after using the shower. Don't get used to this, by the way. Caroline's bathroom is onsuit, so it makes more sense for you to use mine."

"I'll keep it clean," Rebekah promised. "Where did you guys put the washing machine and dryer?"

Caroline pointed down the hallway to where they squeezed the two machines. "I think it's time to talk house rules. Katherine and I haven't actually done this yet."

"If you have sex it's your responsibility to stay quiet," Katherine suggested. "Oh, and if you put food in the communal fridge, you have to label it or I will eat it."

Caroline laughed. "Roomies!"

 **Saturday 07/10**

 **Midnight**

 **Graveyard**

Celeste had been leaving the gala through the back entrance when she saw Caroline Forbes kill her minions. It was infuriating in itself. The blonde took the White-Oak-stake and left with Klaus, but she had left something equally important that had been stolen from the Mikaelsons and Celeste found it in the inside pocket of one of the carcasses.

It was a piece of paper, scrunched up and ripped around the edges and soaked with a tea bag to make it look like parchment. It even smelled like a Grimoire and decorated with old symbols that used to be letter. Davina Claire had done a brilliant job of making it look like a real spell.

And it was a real spell. It was powerful enough to bring Kol and Finn back to life using the power of the full moon. But Celeste didn't have a full moon, she had ten witches ready to let her channel them.

She sat in the pentagram of salt, with 100 candles, chanting along to the spell that would bring the only person she could trust back to life.

When the spell was done Celeste collapsed and the witches around her ran to her and helped her to her feet to greet the now living man. When she woke up he shook hands with Celeste.

"I need your help," she said.

"Yes, you do," Mikael Mikaelson said.

* * *

 **Reminder that I'm making up my own Celeste Storyline.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **Please review, let me know what you think! -Izzy  
**


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm updating earlier than I expected, but it is technically Saturday over here soooo...  
**

 **Obviously Klaroline and Kalijah will be endgame in this fic. Kennett is set in stone as well, sorry. Damon won't be in the sequel. Honestly, I'm not a fan, but I know a lot of people are and I wouldn't be able to write him in a good light for his fans who might be reading this. I'll see what I can do about Klatherine though.**

 **I'm really really tired and I didn't beta this, so sorry for any mistakes.**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY**

 **Monday 09/10**

 **09:35am**

 **The Combo**

"So, what are you two doing today?" Caroline asked as Katherine finally joined them in the kitchen for breakfast. The three girls had become comfortable with seeing eatchother in their pyjamas, so they sat around the counter on barstools, eating Cocoa Puffs and drinking coffee in Kimonos and shorts and tank tops.

"Finding Celeste and killing her painfully," Katherine said. "What?" she added at the confused looks of the two blondes faces.

"If she's gone, why not just leave it that way?" Caroline asked.

"Because she'll just try again to kill us all and steal Elijah," Katherine said. "Besides he's helping me so he approves. Not that I need him to."

"Okay... anyway, what about you, Rebekah?"

"Probably move a few of my things over," she said. "Might go out shopping. What about you?"

"Klaus is taking me to see his hybrids," she said. "I can talk to him if you want, Rebekah?" The two siblings were still in the middle of their argument.

"No," she said. "Just leave it."

After they finished breakfast they all went back to their own rooms to dress. Katherine changed into skin tight black jeans and a burgundy tank top with gold jewellery and black heeled shoes. She went into the bathroom to do her make up in a better light to find Rebekah already leaning over the sink.

She paused before walking next to the blonde and bringing out her own make-up. "Thanks for letting me use your bathroom," Rebekah said, not really sounding very thankful. Katherine looked up and down her outfit and pouted. She wore blue jeans and a cropped white sleeveless tank top with a white cardigan over the top that was fairly long and had a gold belt around her waist, just below the crop top. Her blonde hair was curled like her own and she also wore gold jewellery. Katherine couldn't help but be a little jealous. She often felt like Darth Vadar next two the two sunshine princesses of Caroline and Rebekah.

"No problem," Katherine lied. "Like you're outift, by the way. Suits you."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at her. "Thank you."

"I thought you usually wear darker colours," Katherine said. "Well you have since I got to New Orleans anyway."

Rebekah paused. "Not always. After I was undaggered, for that long period from the twenties, I wore lighter clothes. I sought of changed my style a little, but I didn't completely abandon my favourite cardigan."

"Usually, I'm not a cardigan-fan," Katherine said. "But you pull it off. Cudos."

 **Monday 09/10**

 **09:47am**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"Why, may I ask, do you look so cheery this morning, Niklaus?" Elijah asked, letting a maid take his empty mug of coffee before checking himself in the mirror above the mantelpiece, fixing the odd stray hair.

"Is there a reason not to be?" Klaus asked. He sat at the head of the table, flicking over the headlines of a mundane newspaper and sipping his coffee. Finn and Kol also both sat at the table, looking bored.

"Yes, I believe there is," Elijah said, straightening his dark tie. He wore a black shirt that day under his dark suit.

"Well, will you care to explain it to me?" Klaus asked, putting his newspaper down and standing up. "Because the way I see things everything is... well... peachy. I've started my army of hybrids, and a collection of vampires are soon to join; Kol and Finn are alive and well; Caroline and I are in a relationship. Look, even you're happy!"

"I'm not happy," Elijah said. "You have your indestrucatbale army, which I suppose is all you've ever wanted. You hate both Kol and Finn, poor Caroline does seem to be oblivious to the fact that you will one day betray her, like you do all of us-" Klaus pinned Elijah to the wall but he twisted the hybrids arm around and slammed him face first into the wall. "Of course, then there's the Rebekah sized hole in the room." Finn and Kol stood up when Klaus flipped Elijah onto the floor, who got straight to his feet again.

"I'm better off without her," Klaus said. "We're all better off without her!"

"She's our sister," Kol interrupted.

"She is nothing to me," Klaus said.

"Why?" Elijah asked. "Because you refused to admit fault when you have done nothing but torture her for 1000 years? You may think you're better off without her, and if so then I congratulate you on riding yourself of her but now you've lost me, as well." He turned to leave before looking back. "This isn't happiness, brother. This is nowhere near it."

Klaus flashed in front of him so he couldn't leave. "Well if you're not happy, then I do believe Katerina is failing to serve her purpose."

"If you come near her," Elijah growled, "I will destroy you."

"Such ambition," Klaus said. "I admire it, really I do. But you're forgetting that I can't be killed."

"I came close once," Elijah said. "Remember? You will not fool me again." Now he did leave, slamming the door behind him.

Klaus turned, growling to Kol and Finn. "Looks like you two are the only family I have left," he said. "So if you're not 100% behind me then we have a problem. A dagger-related problem."

"I think you've daggered me enough actually," Finn said.

Klaus was about to speak but Kol, calmly, shook his head. "What makes you think that will still work?" he asked. "What makes you think that if you dagger one of us, the other three won't find them and un-dagger them? What makes you think that you're not on your very last legs with us? We have backbones now, Nik. No more daggering. What makes you think Caroline will still put up with you after you kill one of her friends?"

Klaus ran at Kol, who ducked out of the way and slammed Klaus into a wall. He knew that he was the only sibling Klaus was really afraid of, because Kol didn't care about blood or family. He cared about who was loyal and who was a decent person, and in his opinion, Klaus was not, so the fact that they were flesh and blood meant nothing.

"Nik, you do understand that you and Rebekah are arguing because she gave you what you wanted?" Finn spoke up, standing behind Kol with his arms crossed.

"Rebekah and I are nothing because she is an ungrateful, spoiled brat!" Klaus said, flipping them around so he was holding Kol against the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and meet Caroline."

 **Monday 09/10**

 **Noon**

 **East Forest**

"Remind me again why we don't just use a tracking spell?" Katherine asked, grumpily, as she trudged behind Elijah through the forest.

"Because all of New Orleans witches are-"

"Celeste's bitches," Katherine finished. "I remember now." Elijah paused for her to catch up. For a 1000 year old Original vampire with a very old fashioned attitude he was pretty good with computers and technology. He had managed to hack into Celeste's phone and had tracked it to where they were now.

"I smell her," he said, absent-mindedly.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Brilliant. Let's smell you ex-girlfriend."

He turned to her, finding himself irritated, once again by her constant jealousy. "How many time will I have to stress this to you?" he asked. "Celeste means nothing to me. You mean everything."

"But she was your everything once," Katherine said. "I bet you used to love smelling her back in the day."

"Don't Katerina. Jealousy doesn't suit you," he said. "I loved her many centuries ago. The spark we once had had long since burned out."

"If you're so bad at keping a spark alive," Katherine mused, "what do you think will happen with us?"

"We don't have a spark," he said. "We have a bonfire." When she stood next to him he looked at her, confusedly. "What's in your hair?"

They both reached for a spot on her head where there was a leaf tangled in her curls. Katherine pulled it out and sighed. "I don't even know how this got in there," she said. "I've just been _walking_!"

He set off again, following Celeste's scent. "You're not an outdoors person are you?"

"Oh, and you are?" she asked. "Are suits the new boy scout uniform?"

He paused again, turning to her, sucking his teeth. "I'm twice you're age," he reminded her.

"You're a pervert, what's your point?" she asked.

"My point is: don't refer to me as a boy," he said.

Katherine's mouth fell. "Are you a girl?" she teased. He did that thing he did whenever she teased him or said something stupid. He looked up at the sky and shook his head, as if expecting an answer from God as to why he stuck him in love with her. "Okay, okay," she said. "I'm sorry. I forgot. I can mock your handkerchief thing, I can mock you ripping out hearts and I can mock how you call me _Katerina_ , but I leave the suits alone. And your masculinity."

And suddenly he had her against a tree as she giggled. "I can just show you my masculinity," he whispered. When he kissed her she bit his bottom lip like it was her play toy. He pulled away, kissing her cheek and holding her hands.

"Oh, come _on_ ," she whined, trying to pull him against her.

No matter how hard she pulled him, he was too strong to let her control him. "I'm not going to have sex with you against a tree," he said.

She rolled her eyes. It was one of the things she loved and hated about him, but he had too much class. "Fine. I think the condo's empty..."

"And I will surely go with you to celebrate after Celeste's heart stops beating," he said, simply.

"Brilliant," she said. "Can I do it?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, as if he was asking if she thought he would seriously let her be the one to kill Celeste. "She tried to kill my family-"

"But she touched my stuff," Katherine said, angrily, pulling him closer by his tie.

He pulled the tie away from her grip and tilted her chin so that she looked him in the eye. "You do not own me, Katerina."

"We're going to have to work on that," she purred.

He paused, before turning left, away from her. "Celeste's this way," he said, walking off again. She sighed before following him, somewhat reluctantly.

 **Monday 09/10**

 **13:27pm**

 **West Forest**

Caroline held hands with Klaus as he told her about fighting with Elijah that morning. "I, honestly, think this whole argument is stupid," Caroline said. "Like, okay, so Rebekah shouldn't have tried to make you feel bad about yourself, and she did kind of back you into a corner, but maybe you should have just admitted fault, like you did with Kol and Finn." She didn't actually believe Rebekah was in the wrong, but she was trying to empathize with her boyfriend.

"But I was only protecting her-"

"Maybe," Caroline said. "But you still hurt her... Anyway, as for Elijah, I don't think he should be getting involved." That she thought was true.

Klaus paused. "He said I would one day betray you."

Caroline stopped walking and pulled Klaus closer to her. Being in a relationship with him was like a dream. It was too hard to believe that it had happened, especially so soon. She expected it to take months, but all she really needed was a romantic setting and the strength to admit her true feelings.

"I promised I would stay with you through the worst thing you could ever do," she said. "I don't think the worst you'll ever do will be to me. I don't think it will be to your family. I see the good in you, but I love your bad side. I know I'm playing with fire, but Elijah doesn't know that I'm burn-proof." He paused, his hands going to her waist as she stood on her tip-toes to kiss him. "I know what I'm signing up for," she promised.

"I love you," he whispered.

She smiled. "I love you, too. Now, let's go and see some wolves."

He lead her further through the forest until they reached the camp-site of the werewolves. They all seemed to be packing up their things, as if they were moving. Some of them bowed to Klaus as he walked through them, but most of them just smiled, like he was an old friend. "Make yourself at home," he whispered. "I need to talk with Ezra."

He walked into the main tent to where the old alpha, his new second-in-command, slept. Caroline moved among the site, introducing herself to as many hybrids as she could, noting something about them to help her remember their names. She struck up a conversation with each of them about something individual. They all knew her as Klaus's girlfriend, but they tried to get them to see her as Caroline, her own individual person, and they all did, after meeting her.

They were all packing up to move into the compound, a building in the French Quarter where Marcel's army used to live. Klaus used to live there centuries ago but he liked the mansion more. Caroline helped a few of them pack and she went to meet the two pregnant women who couldn't be turned yet.

Eventually they started to know her as Caroline, the helpful, kind hearted vampire who had too much love to go around, and she heard them refer to Klaus as 'Caroline's boyfriend'. She smiled, cheekily.

"I think I may have taken over his pack," she laughed. The hybrid she was talking to, Tasha, laughed as Caroline handed her a small pile of clothes she helped fold so the hybrid could stack them in her suitcase. "Oops."

"Well, every king needs a queen," she heard Klaus mutter behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck.

She turned around in his grip and laughed, her hands on his shoulders as she lightly pushed him away. "What did I tell you about PDA?"

"Not a fan," he recited. "You were okay with it yesterday."

She pushed him away and she remembered yesterday when they were walking through the mall and she stopped to pulling him into a hot, deep kiss. "There was a very pretty ginger girl eyeing you." He smirked, turning to Tasha and rolling his eyes. The hybrid laughed. "Hey, what time is it?" Caroline asked.

"Almost two," he said.

"I have a class at 2:30pm," she said. "I need to go back and get ready." She hugged goodbye to Tasha and so many other hybrids before finding her bag and using her vampire speed to take her back to the condo. Klaus followed her back.

"You can't be here," she said.

"Why not?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "This is also Rebekah's place, okay? It's her escape from you." At that moment the front door flew open and Katherine was slammed into the wall next to it, her legs wrapped around Elijah who's face was glued to her as she moaned. "Also, there's that," Caroline said.

Katherine and Elijah pulled their faces apart and Elijah and Klaus begun staring, angrily at eatchother as Katherine and Caroline spoke like rational people. "I thought you were out all day," Katherine said.

"I am, I'm just popping in to change," Caroline said. "I'll be gone in a minute. So will he."

Klaus walked out of the open front door after kissing Caroline, who left into her bedroom. She changed her shoes from muddy sneakers to clean heels and changed her jacket into something a little less of a 'going to meet wolves in the forest' look. She added more accessories and grabbed her bag, filling it with folders and work before running out the door, hearing Katherine and Elijah in Katherine's room.

 **Monday 09/10**

 **14:30pm**

 **Roseau**

Kol and Rebekah both ordered burgers while sitting in a booth, drinking a beer each, straight out of the bottle. Hey, Originals didn't have to be fancy all of the time. They had invited Finn out with them, but he had declined. Kol and Rebekah often went out together.

They had always been the closest of all the siblings, probably because of their minimal age difference, just under a year, but they weren't just siblings, or partners in crime. It sounded lame, but Kol was her best friend.

"Okay," he said, leaning forward, seriously. "I have an idea. Why don't we just kill all of Klaus's hybrids?"

"Why?" she asked, swinging her feet up on the booth chair.

"To punish him," he said. "I mean, we've lived under his God damn reign for too long. I know, better than all of us, that declaring war on a sibling is fun. Come on, Bekah. What have we got to lose?"

"Other than our lives?" she asked. "Other than our freedom from those boxes in the basement?" She leaned forward. "What have you been up to, lately?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, sipping his beer and leaning back, casually.

"I mean, we barely see you," she said. "I know you, Kol. There's only so many times you can wander around New Orleans before you get bored of the city."

"Consider me bored," he said. "I've just been here and there. I may or may not be planning something. That's not the point. Now, you did Klaus a good deed, he was a jerk. It's time to punish him. For this, for every man of yours he's ever killed, for every time he stuck a dagger in our chests. I miss being an enemy to this family."

She paused now. "You were never a true enemy."

"Oh really?" he asked. "You know, before you guys bought me back to life, I was talking to a witch on the Other Side. She said she would be able to bring me back to life. I was going to kidnap the loves of your lives and use them to punish you all for the part you played in my death and you lack of mourning. But then I saw you, from the Other Side, crying yourself to sleep with a picture of me in your hands and the next day Davina came to you with a way to bring me back and you offered to sacrifice yourself."

Rebekah paused. "I remember that. What's your point?"

"My point is that I decided I wasn't going to be as bad as Klaus and hurt you like he did so many times over the years," he said. "I forced myself to give this family another chance after everything you did to me. Klaus... we've given him so many chances over the years. Enough is enough. It's time to tell him that just because he's the hybrid doesn't mean he's in charge. Shall we?" Rebekah paused, so he continued. "Rebekah, remember everyone you loved over the years. Remember how he killed them? He loves the idea of hybrids. Let's go."

"You're right," she said, after a pause. "I'll bring the car around."

 **Monday 09/10**

 **15:05pm**

 **Outside West Forest**

Rebekah watched Klaus stormed out of the forest angrily, his eyes yellow, the whites red, veins creeping up underneath and his fangs exposed. "What did you do?" he yelled at them.

Rebekah sat on top of his sat and Kol leaned against it. They exchanged amused looks as Klaus approached them. "I brought Rebekah to the dark side," Kol said. "You know me, Klaus. I don't take any of your bullshit. What did you expect me to do?"

"My hybrids," he growled. "You killed them all!"

Rebekah slid off of the car and put her hands on her hips as she faced him. "Jesus, Klaus, you didn't even care about having hybrids before I gave you the opportunity. You didn't except them very nicely so we took them away."

"You bitch," he growled at her.

Kol gasped, holding his bloody hand out to Klaus. "Now, now. If you don't play nice, we're going to take our ball and go home."

"You have no balls," Klaus said. "Other wise you would have confronted me yourself instead of killing my soldiers."

Kol had his steel baseball bat over his shoulder which he started twirling. "I have more balls than you do," he said. "I can actually stand up to your bullshit."

Klaus held them by their throats against a tree, but they both, simultaneously, twisted the hand that was around each of their throats and twisted them behind his back before pushing him to his knees. Klaus may have been stronger than them individually, but together the overpowered him.

Kol swung his baseball bat like he was hitting a ball over Klaus's head with enough force as to knock him out, which was a hard thing to do. He held up the bat which was dented so much there was a 90° angle. "I'm going to need a new bat," he said, casually as Rebekah and him let Klaus fall to the floor.

 **Monday 09/10**

 **16:31pm**

 **French Quarter**

Finn dropped his snack, a young female bartender to the ground of the alley way and growled as he pulled back, blood staining his chin. He turned and gasped, backing against the wall of the alley. The hallucinations had stopped! The Curse had been broken! So why was he seeing...

"Finn," Mikael said, his tone formal as if greeting his son like a business partner. He looked over to the dead body at his feet. "I'm sorry you became like this."

"Like what?" he growled. "What you turned me into?"

He looked angry. "I turned you into a vampire, Finn, not a monster. I don't think you did that to yourself though. No, after biting someone when you had the curse you got a taste for human blood. Now you can't stop. How unfortunate."

"Stop it," he growled. "I got this under control! What are you even doing here? How can I see you? The hallucinations stopped!"

"I'm not a hallucination," he said, his hands in the pockets of his trench coat. "I'm really alive. The witch, Celeste, needed my help. She wants to save the world from vampires-"

"She lies," Finn said. "She wants to spare Elijah for herself."

Mikael nodded. "That's why I'm not working with her. She performed the spell your mother created in the name of Henrik; the one that was used by Davina to bring you and Kol back to life. But Elijah needs to die as well so I can't work with Celeste."

"Prove it," he growled. "Prove that you're really alive."

Mikael paused before smiling, softly, at him. He ducked out of the alley and patted a man on the shoulder. "Do you have the time?" he asked, innocently. He checked his watch and gave Mikael the time of day. "See?" he said, walking back to Finn. "Other people can see me."

"What do you want from me?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I only ask for my son's aid. I want your help in ridding the world of the evil I wrongfully created."

"You want me to help you kill my siblings and myself," he summed up.

He nodded. "I understand it's a hard thing to do-"

"No," he said, flatly.

He paused. "No?"

"No," he repeated. "I deeply regret my actions in Mystic Falls. I wish I had never tried to kill my real family. This time I will fight with them and against you."

"Why?" Mikael asked. "They have done nothing but evil, Finn. You fought against them once-"

"And yet, they still bought me to life," he said. "They still saved me from the Hunters curse. They still saved my life so many times when I tried to end it. And before New Orleans, they found Sage for me. If they love me unconditionally then I should love them as well."

"But I love you unconditionally," Mikael said.

"If you loved me unconditionally, if you loved any of your children unconditionally, then your the conditions for your love would not leave out vampires," he said.

"But vampires are monsters, Finn," Mikael said. "Including me. Look at yourself. Look at this!" He gestured to the dead girl on the floor. "You don't have this under control."

"That does not mean I need you," he said. "I certainly don't want you."

 **Monday 09/10**

 **19:15pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Klaus stormed into the parlour room and growled when he saw Kol and Rebekah, sat on the same couch, Rebekah's feet up. Elijah sat on an armchair near them and Finn was sat on the opposite couch and they were all looking solemn.

"We started the family meeting without you," Rebekah said, swigging from a bottle of tequila.

"What makes you think you two are welcome here?" he asked Kol and Rebekah.

"Well this is our family home," Kol said, shrugging. "And I'm more family than you are, my treacherous, deceiving, backstabbing half-brother."

"Kol," Elijah scolded, taking the tequila bottle from Rebekah and drinking. "We are all mad at Niklaus, but his blood means nothing. He is as much part of the family as any of us."

"Yeah, low blow," Rebekah agreed, looking at Elijah in confusion. "Since when did you drink like that?"

"Since Finn's news," Elijah said.

"What news?" Klaus asked, looking between his siblings, ignoring Kol's comment, despite the fact that it stung him. Finn quickly filled him in on Mikael's appearance. "Impossible," Klaus growled, walking past them and throwing the painting above the mantelpiece over his shoulder, one-handedly. He opened the safe and searched inside for the spell to bring people back to life. It was nowhere to be found.

"I'm telling the truth," Finn said, taking the bottle from Elijah and drinking, before handing it to Kol. "Our father's back."

"Not now, he isn't," Klaus said. "We deal with him on Wednesday. Speaking of which..." he walked behind Kol and Rebekah and banged their heads together.

"Ow!" they whined, simultaneously, touching their heads.

"We're not fighting tomorrow," Klaus said. "That should sustain me until Wednesday."

"What's tomorrow?" Elijah asked.

"Caroline's birthday," Katherine said, strutting into the room. "Party's at 9pm, by the way, and it's here. It's a bigger place than ours so..."

"Party?" Kol asked. "Who did you invite?"

"Caroline's college friends," Rebekah said. "We invited some of our favourites from Mystic Falls, but they declined."

"Tomorrow is going to be perfect," Klaus growled. "No fighting. No Mikael. No drama."

"Mikael?" Katherine asked. "The Original Daddy? What's he got to do with anything?"

The five siblings looked at eatchother. "Nothing," Elijah said. "Nothing until Wednesday."

* * *

 **The 10th of October is actually Caroline's canon birthday. I know all the date/days are all messed up but I just did it randomly. Originally this fic was just for me so I didn't care about pesky details.**

 **Reminder that I'm making up my own Celeste Storyline.  
**

 **Also just wanted to very quickly add: It may seem like Kol doesn't exactly have any type of storyline in this story but I promise he's up to something. I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psycopath we all know and love so I promise you he's up to something that will be revealed in a few chapters.**

 **If you like this story, or have any suggestions, please review! It honestly makes me soo happy to see a new review!-Izzy  
**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter TWENTY-ONE**

 **Tuesday 10/10**

 **Noon**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Kol was the last to wake up among his siblings, loving a good, long, uninterrupted lie-in to start the day. Unfortunately, he was unable to wake up at his usual time, about 2:00pm, because he was awoken before then.

"Get up," he heard a feminine voice say, sitting next to him on his bed and throwing a blood bag at him. He looked up to see Katherine, her legs crossed on his bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she absent-mindedly picked at her nails.

"I'm bored," she said, looking at him as though it should be obvious.

He paused. Katherine and him had been briefly friendly in the short two weeks he had stayed with her and Elijah when they dated the first time around, but they hadn't really spoken since then. "Well go and find Elijah to play with," he suggested. "Or Caroline, or Rebekah. Why me?"

"Elijah and Rebekah are out with Finn looking for The Original Daddy," she sighed. "And Caroline's out with Klaus for most of the day for her birthday. She had morning classes, she spends the afternoon with Klaus. I don't really get her today."

"The Original Daddy?" Kol asked, raising his eyebrow as he sat up. He didn't sleep with a shirt on, but he wasn't insecure.

"I'm mocking you all," Katherine said. "You Mikaelsons say 'Original' too much. Like, if someone challenges you, you just smirk, say 'I'm an Original' and then win. It's really boring. So I mock you behind your back."

"You do?" Kol asked, taking the blood-bag and using the tube as a straw to drink.

She nodded. "You really need to find some original things to say. Pun intended."

"So, they all went out to look for Mikael and they didn't wake me up?" he asked, grumpily.

"They tried to," Katherine said. "You mumbled something about penguins and fell back to sleep. Elijah said I couldn't go because I would only get hurt."

"Since when did you do what Elijah said?" Kol asked.

She looked at him as though he was crazy. "I don't. He left like, thirty seconds ago. Which is why you're going to put on a shirt, and we're going to find and kill Mikael first and then I'm going to prove to Elijah that I don't need protecting."

"But you do need protecting," he said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have woken me to come with you."

Katherine paused. "Everyone needs a partner in crime."

"And I'm Rebekah's," he said. "Sorry."

She hit him on the arm. "I'm only borrowing you! Besides, if I had my way, I would be with three Originals, not one. Don't you want to prove to your big siblings that you can do things for yourself?"

"I'm older than Rebekah," he pointed out, before briefly pausing. "I'll be ready in two minutes."

"I'll wait downstairs," she smiled before walking out.

 **Tuesday 10/10**

 **12:34pm**

 **Newly Bought Mansion**

"So have you and Elijah killed that Celeste bitch yet?" Kol asked as he and Katherine approached the front door. He knew she was a powerful ally. She even looked pretty bad-ass. She had a black tank top tucked into black leather pants and a black denim jacket with high shoes. She looked pretty casual, like she did stuff like this on a daily basis. She was definitely his second choice of bad-ass partner for killing people.

"No," she mused. "Haven't been able to find her. She's in hiding, the cowardly slut. Are you going to break the door down or should I?"

"Or we could be subtle?" he suggested. "Sneak in, hide. When he leaves a room, move some stuff about so when he goes back in he's scared. Then we corner him."

Katherine paused. "That's pretty good," she admitted, the corners of her mouth dropping into an impressed face. "Are we sure this is his house?"

"I can hear him upstairs," he said. "He's talking to someone. Not important. Shall we?"

They sneaked into the house and Kol went upstairs, watching Mikael from the other room. The house was purchased the other day, fully furnished and he was at at the end of a bed. He wasn't actually on the phone, he was talking to Celeste who paced in front of him, talking about a robbery – probably to steal the white-oak-stake. They both went into the bathroom down the hall. Kol sneaked in there with Katherine.

"So this is where Celeste is hiding," Katheing whispered under her breath. "Guess they're working together."

She made the bed and Kol tidied up some stuff on the dresser. Then they crept into another room as Mikael and Celeste walked back in. "Get the bathroom," Kol mouthed to Katherine, who ran off down the hall. Kol saw his father look at the bed in confusion but just shake the fear off.

"You can go now, Celeste," Mikael said to the witch. "We'll carry the robbery out at the earliest oppurtunity."

He picked up his towel from the chair and headed over to the bathroom. Kol moved out of the way, realising that Katherine was still in there. He was about to stop Mikael when Katherine poked him from behind. He sighed with relief as Mikael closed the door to the bathroom.

It was wide open a second later and he stared down the corridor, looking for the intruder, having discovered whatever Katherine had changed about the bathroom. Kol frantically gestured to Katherine, who seemed to understand, the plan. She left the room they were in to sneak into Mikael's room. "Celeste?" Mikael called. The witch was by his side immediately.

"Hello father," Kol said, stepping out to meet Mikael.

There was a pause. "Kol," he said. "How... How have you been?"

"Why are you talking to me like we are okay?" he said. "I mean, we're not exactly your typical father and son."

"You're still my son," he said. "Typical or not. I still love you, Kol."

"Then why are you trying to kill me?" he asked.

He shook her head. "I'm not just trying to kill you, Kol. I;m trying to kill Niklaus and anyone who stands in my way. Besides, I suppose a part of me has no trouble ridding the world of the abominations me and your mother created. You not the same person you used to be."

He nodded. "I agree. I've changed over the last thousand years."

There was a long pause. "Help me," he said. "I need someone on the inside. You understand me, don't you, my son? You understand why I have to do this. Will you help me?"

He shook his head. "Of course I won't. Sure, I'll go against Klaus's master plans and I'm always going to make fun of Rebekah's boyfriends. I will always laugh at Elijah's suits and yes, I'm always going to argue with Finn. But I'll never try to kill them."

He was about to say something else when Katherine appeared behind Mikael. "Sorry to interrupt," she said. "It's getting a little mushy in here."

"This is an ambush," Mikael said, looking between Katherine and Kol.

Katherine sniggered. "Something like that. Hey Celeste!"

There was a pause before Kol and Katherine were thrown against the front wall of the house. They grasped for eatchother, being hardly able to move and both needing some protection to hold onto as Celeste used magic to pull them forward before slamming through the wall and landing on the street a couple stories down. They jumped to their feet and looked around, finding themselves in the Marigny Bywater.

"What just happened?" Kol said.

"You had a moment with your father before Celeste threw us through a wall," Katherine said.

"I remember that bit," he snarled. "I mean, why are we suddenly in The Marigny Bywater? I swear we were just miles away."

"Where were we?" Katherine asked, thinking.

Kol paused. "She did a freaking memory spell on us."

"Great," Katherine sighed. "I went behind Elijah's back to prove that I can do things for myself and I've got nothing to show for it. Except wall dust in my hair."

 **Tuesday 10/10**

 **16:31pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Okay, granted, Caroline's twentieth birthday party was not going to be the biggest party of the year, and it was mostly going to be college students and young hybrids and baby vampires but it was still an event, and thus, a stress-inducing, voice-killing, headache-worthy afternoon for Caroline who was trying to organize the whole thing. It was originally going to be a surprise party by Rebekah and Katherine, but Caroline had easily found out and taken over, scrapping all of their plans and starting fresh with Kol, Elijah, Katherine, Rebekah and Finn as her help.

"I told you time and time again," she complained, her voice rising. "This is not some typical college party. Get the good champagne!"

Kol looked down to the bottles of champagne in his hands and back at Caroline. "The only better alcohol we have is in Elijah's cabinet."

Caroline sighed, throwing her clipboard onto a side table as she walked into the parlour room. Katherine was sorting out some speakers for music and Elijah was jumping off of the couch at the sight of scary Caroline and trying to look as though he was being useful. "I was helping," he said.

"I'm not going to tell you off," she said, forcing her sweetest smile on. "And to thank me, since it's my birthday could you please let us have some of the nice champagne in your alcohol cabinet?"

He paused. "What's wrong with the alcohol Kol bought?"

"It's not good," Kol said from behind Caroline shrugging.

"Please?" Caroline said. "Just the champagne! And maybe some of the wine-"

"He's out of wine," Katherine said. Everyone turned to her, even a confused Elijah, obviously oblivious as to why his wine had disappeared. "Sorry."

He shrugged. "I didn't really like wine anyway. There mostly gifts."

"Ugh, so what are we supposed to do for wine?" Caroline complained.

Kol paused. "There's a whole wine cellar. No champagne I don't think..."

"You can have my champagne," Elijah said. "But you're going to have to go down to the cellar for wine."

Caroline nodded before walking off to go and get her clipboard. She saw Rebekah wrapping fairy lights around the bannister of the stairs and Finn leaning against the wall. "Finn!" she snapped. "The only way you could be less helpful would be if you were actually the wall you're leaning against! Although, then you'd be providing a wall for some bitch to lean against and reflect on what a bitch he is! A little more productiveness would be great!"

"Sorry," he said, standing up straight, looking scared.

She sighed. "It's fine. Go down to the wine cellar and find something nice. Oh, and where the hell is Klaus?"

"Out making more hybrids," Kol said, going to the door as the bell rang.

She threw her hands up in the air. "Seriously? Can't he take a break from that to help? It's my freaking birthday!"

"Well, since we killed his last batch... Luckily he had more of that blood" Kol said, throwing the door open. A man stood there was a big box of pink tulips. Caroline marched forward an inspected them.

"I asked for purple tulips," she said. She looked into his eyes and compelled him. "I need the purple ones. Go back and replace these for purple tulips." She closed the door on him and turned back to Kol. "Yeah, but he was also out making more hybrids this morning when I was in class, so there is nothing that urgent that he immediately needs hybrids for!" Kol exchanged looks with Rebekah and Finn. "What?" Caroline asked. "What is it? What are you guys hiding from me?"

"Nothing," Finn said. "Klaus is a complete twat. Let's move on."

There was a pause. "What is a 'twat'?" Caroline asked.

The three of them sniggered. "It's British," Rebekah said. "I think it is, anyway. It means... Female reproductive part. I think it means pregant fish in America."

Caroline cringed. "Okay, whatever. Finn, since you're not doing anything, can you clear out the drawing room? I need a dance floor! And Kol, make sure all bedrooms are locked. This may be a sophisticated party, but everyone has a non-sophisticated side." Kol and Finn left to carry out her orders. "What colour are you wearing tonight?"

"I don't know," Rebekah said. "I'll find something in my closet." She looked at Caroline's stressed, angry face and her own fell. "Green. Light green."

Temper-tantrum averted.

"Cute," Caroline said, seemingly happy. "Oh, and make no mistake, I will find out whatever you guys are keeping from me before my party begins. Or during. I'm busy before."

"Caroline-"

"Or you could just tell me now and stop me from stressing out on my birthday...?"

"You're already stressing out over your birthday, sweetie," Rebekah said. "No need to add more stress. Happy Birthday, by the way."

Caroline beamed at her. "So far, it really is. Thanks, Bex."

 **Tuesday 10/10**

 **20:37pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Caroline didn't even know half of the people there, but they were all celebrating her so it was okay. She weaved in and out of the kitchen and drawing room and parlour, keeping guests out of the cellar and bedrooms. She wore a short, cute beige dress with a black belt around her thin waist and no sleeves or straps with white high heeled shoes and gold jewellery. He blonde hair fell in thick curls down her back.

She greeted everyone with a hug and put their presents on the ever growing mountain on the dining room table. She had a huge smile on her face the whole evening. Especially when she saw her friends having fun.

Rebekah was dancing through the crowd in a short, flimsy, strapless mint green dress with a sweet-heart neckline and matching shoes, her loosely curled hair around her shoulders. She would flirt with whatever guy seemed handsome or sweet enough for her time and move on before they became too attached. If they were lucky, they may have gotten a kiss.

She saw Katherine also flirt with guys to wind Elijah up. She knew the brunette, sickly, was addicted to angering a usually calm man. Elijah, in return, would wind her up by not paying any attention to her and talking with another woman until either Katherine or Elijah would crack and try to kill the person the other was talking to. Caroline had to stop that a lot. No one was going to die on her birthday as a general rule.

Kol was playing Guitar Hero with some girls in the drawing room, entertaining them and making them laugh, making each one feel unique and taking a collection of phone numbers and names. Caroline loved him enough to look past and not care about the fact that he was a player who was flirting with all of her friends.

Finn was even flirting with girls as he served them drinks in the kitchen. Caroline knew he had been in love with Sage, but it was good to see him enjoying himself and at least trying to move on from obsessing about Sage. He looked pretty handsome that night, with messy, rugged hair. Who knew?

"I hope you bought me in here to apologize," Kol said as Klaus lead him into his bedroom. His older brother stood next to his bed with his hands behind his back, smiling slightly.

"If only I was that peaceful," Klaus said. "I was planning on daggering you for killing my hybrids, but I thought of something a little less extreme."

"Oh, I'm in here to be punished. So what have you got in store today? Some sword fighting? No daggers, I see, but something less extreme-"

"Kol," Rebekah said, bursting into the bedroom. She was clutching at her shoulder but red blood was leaking through her fingers. Any injury would have healed by now on Rebekah... "I came to find you. Nik is-"

Klaus interrupted her by running forward and shoving her, flying against a wall she landed on the floor. Klaus sunk his teeth into Kols neck and dropped him, bloody to the floor. In less than a minute the party had been completely wrecked. Klaus pulled away from Kol. "What the fuck?!" Kol swore, loudly, grasping at his neck as the blood would not stop flowing.

"That is a warning," Klaus said, walking away and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "If you ever try to kill my hybrids again, you will have daggers run through your hearts for the next three centuries and any sibling who tries to stop me will get one as well."

"What about Caroline?" Kol snarled, his white shirt being stained with his blood.

"Are you going to tell on me?" Klaus said, feigning surprise as his hands touched his chest, offended.

"I mean if you dagger us," Kol said.

Klaus smirked. "I'll cross that bridge if we come to it," he said.

"I thought you preferred the dagger for me, anyway?" Rebekah asked, getting to her feet, her dress ruined.

"Oh, I do," Klaus said. "But this is more fun to watch. Now, take this like big children and don't ruin Caroline's birthday. Goodnight."

The kitchen was empty apart from them, Katherine sat on the counter with Elijah between her legs as they made out, his hands slipping under the puffy skirt of her dress which was tight from the waist up but flared out under her belly button to the top of her thighs.

"Remind me again why I'm not mad at you?" he said like a threat. She pushed his shoulders away to look at him.

"Because I've behaved myself all evening," she pouted.

"You have not," he muttered, kissing her again. "You've been flirting with people all evening. Not even just boys."

"Hey, the heart wants what the heart wants," she muttered, kissing him again. "And speak for yourself! I saw you with that Italian girl."

"This isn't the incident I should be punishing you for," he said, his hands running up her back and into her curly brown hair. "I'm thinking about this morning, when you went with Kol to find Mikael and ended up getting hurt?"

Katherine sniggered, pulling away from him. "I don't need your protection," she said. "I can do what I like, thank you very much."

"Oi," Caroline said, walking into the kitchen. "This kitchen is for drinking!"

Elijah looked up from Katherine, barely moving his mouth away from her neck as he looked at Caroline. "It's my house."

"It's my birthday!" she said. Katherine moaned in annoyance and hopped off the counter as Elijah pulled away. "Thank you," Caroline exhaled, although she didn't seem thankful. "Katherine, one of Klaus's hybrids are being very anti social, can you try and get him to loosen up? And Elijah could you... just loosen up?"

Caroline left the kitchen and turned to face a few friends from college who she hugged and kissed and thanked for coming, and as far as she knew, nothing had so far gone horribly wrong and she was facing one of her best birthdays ever. Except...

It kind of upset her that no one from Mystic Falls came to her party. She had overlooked the fact that they were all invited, and they all had some excuse or another, but none of them could come. Matt, Bonnie and Stefan were all fairly believable, but she assumed everyone else just blew it off. Bonnie and Matt both had to work and Stefan had to deal with the latest Mystic Falls drama.

Before she could dwell on it too much Klaus pulled her onto the dance floor. "Lovely party sweetheart," he smiled as she beamed at him.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "It's my birthday. You're supposed to pay more attention to me."

He laughed, knowing she wasn't usually the attention-seeking type. "You know I love birthdays, Caroline. I've just been a little busy today. But tonight is all, entirely for you."

"Promise?" she laughed.

"I promise."

She bit her lip. "Good. My last few birthdays were totally a bust. I'm twenty now, but 18 really sucked. I mean, your bracelet was pretty, and so was your speech, but getting bit in general sucked. Thanks for that, by the way."

"You're doing it again," he said. "Bringing up mistakes I've made in the past. I've already apologized."

"Sorry," she said. "Anyway, it was actually my funeral, my eighteenth. But, you know, forever seventeen, and all that."

"Relish in it, Caroline, Love," he said. He took her hand and dragged her away from the dance floor and up to a balcony, very stereotypical. He showed her a box from the inside of her jacket. It was almost flat and had a pink bow wrapped around it. "Happy Birthday, my darling."

She took the box nervously. It couldn't have been more jewellery, it was definitely something flat. She pulled the bow off and opened it before gasping. She pulled out two plane tickets and tried not to beam at Klaus as she read them.

"I promised I would show you the world," he said. "We're going to start in Venice. Of course, the plane tickets aren't actually real, we're going to be taking a private jet, but it's a metaphor. And from everywhere we visit I'm going to by you something incredible."

"Oh my God!" she gasped, throwing her arms around his shoulder as he did her waist. "I love you!" she breathed in his ear.

"I love you, too," he said. "Run away with me."

"I will go anywhere with you!" she promised.

 **Tuesday 10/10**

 **21:45pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Kol felt himself sweat as he writhe in pain in his bed. He was panting, the room feeling like it was a billion degrees, despite the fact that vampires never got hot. He had taken off his shirt and kept getting, dizzily, up to go to the bathroom to splash cold water over his face. After standing in a freezing cold shower long enough for him to cool down he got out and stumbled back into his room.

"You've got to be kidding me," he growled when he saw Mikael sitting at the end of his bed. Thankfully, he hadn't taken his skinny jeans off in the shower as he was too weak to bother. But still, shirtless and wet in front of your father wasn't great.

Mikael stood up and walked towards him as the air in the room got hotter, the coolness of the shower wearing off. "Look at what Niklaus has done to you," he said, touching his shoulder, the side of his neck that hadn't been bitten and wasn't gross and bloody. "And you wonder why I hate that boy."

"You're a hallucination," he muttered, collapsing on his bed. "Otherwise you wouldn't be stupid enough to come here. Not on Caroline's birthday."

"I came to see if you had reconsidered my offer," he said.

"No," he said, pushing her away. "You mean nothing to me. You're not my father, not get away. But, believe me, if it was just Klaus in the question, I would consider helping you kill him. But it's not. So no, father, I still won't help you."

He sat up and leaned over his bed to cough up blood on his floor. Mikael put his hand on one of his shoulders, as if he was still his child and he was still allowed to help him when he was sick.

"Get out," Kol growled. "Now!"

The was a pause before Mikael stood up. "You're right. I'm so sorry this happened to you, my son." He ran out of the room.

About a minute passed before the door opened again. "I said get out!" Kol yelled.

"Oh, my God, Kol!" Caroline said, running to his side. She took the cloth from him and started dabbing the wound, blood leaking from it due to his strain. "What the Hell happened to you?"

"Werewolf bite," he muttered. He wondered what would happen to him if Klaus found Caroline helping him. Dagger through the heart probably. Kol wouldn't have been surprised if Klaus decided to come at him with the white-oak-stake. The stake! That's why Mikael was really there! "Caroline, the stake! Mikael, he-"

"Mikael?" Caroline asked. "As in your father, Mikael?" Kol silently cursed himself. He forgot that they were keeping Mikael's return from her for her birthday. "You must be hallucinating," she said. Thank God. "I'll find Klaus so he can heal you."

Kol's eyes widened. "No, Caroline! He-"

"I'll get help," she promised. "Don't worry!"

Rebekah had done a pretty decent job of cleaning the wound on her shoulder but her dress would be forever stained. She stumbled out of her bathroom, sweating and panting and fell into someone. She looked up, expecting to see one of the guests but saw Matt Donovan of all people.

"Matt," she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Matt helped her regain her balance, one hand on her waist and the other holding her uninjured arm. "Whoa, careful, Bex," he said. "What the Hell happened to you?"

"Klaus happened," she said. "He bit me."

Matt put his arm under her shoulders and lead her to her bed. "What did you do to him?" he asked.

"I killed his hybrids," she said, collapsing on her duvet. Or her old duvet, anyway. She had moved into the condo and her old bedroom was considered the fanciest guest bedroom with some of her stuff in there. "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to be with you," he whispered, sitting next to her on her bed and using a piece of paper to fan her, trying to cool her down. "I decided that I want to be with you forever."

Rebekah stood up, shakily on her feet as she faced him. "Are you sure?" He nodded so Rebekah pulled him to his feet and shoved him against the wall, biting into her wrist and shoving it into his mouth. "You have to drink, so we can be together forever."

She snapped his neck.

"Rebekah," said a voice behind her. She turned and saw Stefan Salvatore. "Why did you just do that?" he asked, looking at Matt's dead body at her feet.

"I don't know," she said, after a pause. And she didn't. She loved Matt because he was so human, so why did she just change that? Why would she turn him into a vampire. "I don't know."

She crouched by Matt's body and tried to wake him up. Stefan crouched next to her and put an arm around her shoulders, avoiding her wound. "Leave him," Stefan said. "He won't be the same Matt when he wakes up."

She shook her head, beginning to cry as she shook him and slapped him. "I can't believe I did this!"

"I can," he said. "Because you're a monster. And I love that about you. Besides, you and I both know that Matt was just a replacement, because I chose Elena over you."

She shook her head, tears falling down her face. "No, no, no! Matt wasn't... he wasn't... was he?"

Stefan nodded. "He was. He was only a replacement. I'm sorry I chose Elena. You don't know how much I regret hurting you. If I could go back things would be so different."

Rebekah looked up at him. "You're right. I love you, Stefan. It's always going to be you."

They both got to their feet. "And that's why you're pathetic," Stefan said. "Because you love too easily and forgive too easily and that's why nobody will ever love you in return." And then his heart was in her hands and she forgot how it got there, but her hand was bloody.

The door opened and Katherine came in and noticed Rebekah and her stained dress and wounded shoulder and crying face. "What happened?" the brunette asked, walking towards Rebekah.

"I killed them both," Rebekah said. "Matt... I turned him and I killed Stefan..."

Katherine paused, looking around the room. "Rebekah, Matt and Stefan aren't here," she said. "You're hallucinating. The werewolf venom... you didn't kill anyone tonight, especially not Matt or Stefan."

"I'm hallucinating?" Rebekah asked.

Katherine nodded, leading Rebekah over to the bed. "Yeah. Nobody's here but you and me." She said it as though Rebekah was being stupid.

Rebekah nodded as she lay down. "Could you get me some blood?"

"Fine," Katherine said, stepping out of the room.

 **Tuesday 10/10**

 **22:02pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Caroline ran through the party until she found Klaus serving some people drinks in the kitchen. "Hey," she said, pulling on one of his arms. "One of your hybrids bit Kol. I need you to heal him."

There was a pretty long pause while everyone in the kitchen cleared out, leaving them alone. "Caroline... did he come to you or did you find him?"

"I found him," she said. "He was in his room. I was looking for him because he wasn't at the party. Why does it matter? Just come on."

"Caroline, sweetheart, Kol killed my hybrids-"

"And you made more today," she reminded him. "And one of them bit Kol."

There was another long pause. "That's not entirely true," Klaus said. "He needed to be punished. I bit Kol. And Rebekah."

And a couple of hours later the party cleared out so him and Caroline could really talk. Elijah and Finn were upstairs watching Rebekah and Kol after Katherine told the two oldest brothers about the werewolf bites. The doppelgänger was flicking between the two bite victims, helping out for a while before going home herself, knowing that there wasn't really anything else she could do.

Klaus walked in to where Caroline was sitting in the living room and faced her, waiting for her to say something. She stood up and crossed her arms, glaring at him, furiously. "I know you're angry, Love-"

"Angry?" she asked. "Angry is when Kat eats my food out of our refrigerator, or when Bekah uses the last of my good shampoo. I'm livid!"

Klaus paused. "Well, pardon me, Caroline, but I don't really understand why. I bit you, or had you bitten twice before, and you forgave me. So when I punish my own siblings, suddenly you're _livid_ -"

"I forgave you because you were _sorry_!" she yelled. "Because you _apologized_! But you don't even care about your own _family_ 's pain! You're not even sorry."

"No, I'm not sorry," he said. "I'm not sorry for punishing them for killing my hybrids because I refused to apologize for keeping Rebekah in a box on and off for the past thousand years and for killing all of her boy-toys." He took a breath. "My family is dysfunctional, Caroline, and you promised to stand by me through the worst thing I could ever do."

"That doesn't mean I won't be mad at you for biting your siblings with your toxic venom," she said, angrily. "My friends! On my birthday-"

"Oh, trust me, Caroline, it's not like biting them is not the worst thing I could ever do," he yelled at her. "This is simply a sibling squabble for us. Biting them is like playtime for me."

"It is the worst thing you could ever do," she exclaimed. "And you don't even realize it! And that's your problem! You hurt your family to push them away from you for no reason at all because you're just a martyr! I wanted to fix you, but you just keep trying to break yourself!"

"I don't need to be fixed," he shouted.

"If you didn't need to be fixed you wouldn't be so self-destructive!" she screamed. "I can't believe this. I mean, I knew you hurt your family and everything, but I didn't think it would end up like this after something like Rebekah _giving_ you the blood for your hybrids-"

"Rebekah is a selfish, spoiled, piece of shit-"

"Rebekah is my friend!" Caroline yelled. "One of my best friends in the world! And you have the nerve to call her selfish? When you don't think about, not just the pain you're putting her through, but everyone else, everyone who _really_ loves her. Because you're hurting them as well! You're hurting me by hurting them! You say you put me above your family, but you don't put anything above yourself and you have the arrogance to call _her_ selfish?"

There was a pause as Klaus walked closer to her, so close she could feel his breath on her face. "Then I don't _have_ problems," he said, quietly, his voice dropping considerably. "I'm not broken. I'M THE BREAK! I _am_ the problem!" She flinched as his voice raised again, yelling in her face. "And I can't be fixed," he said. "I'm too far gone, Caroline. There is no point of you trying because I'm only got to hurt you."

She shook her head, her expression softening. "This fight... it's between you and Rebekah and Kol. I can't... I'm not going to tell you what to do all the time, I'm not going to whip you. I knew what I was signing up for."

"What do you mean?"

"Instead of getting mad, I'm going to let Kol and Rebekah deal with this," she said, steeping closer to him. "I'm really upset about this, but I'm not going to punish you for it. I'm just going to let what happens happen." She used her vampire speed and strength to shoved him against the nearest wall, even though he was a thousand times stronger than her. "Bit if you ever, ever hurt them again I will find a way to punish you so painfully you won't even consider squabbling with your siblings afterwards. I will not date someone who hurts my friends, regardless of the fact they are siblings." Klaus paused before sinking down and sitting on the coffee table, his head in his hands. "You really believe that, don't you?" Caroline asked, standing nervously as she watched him.

"Believe what?" he asked.

She sat next to him. "That you can't be fixed."

He paused again before nodding, slowly. She put her arm around his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. "You can be," she insisted. "Not fixed, that's objectifying. But you can be saved, I know it. Next time... Klaus, next time you're this angry, and you want to bite someone or dagger someone or kill someone... please just take it to me? Please, Nik, talk to me. I'm you're girlfriend now, you're supposed to talk to me about stuff like this. Give me a chance."

He nodded again. "Okay," he croaked.

* * *

 **PLEASE READ: I'm going to update on Saturday, like usual but only if I get to 40 reviews on this. I know, I hate authors who do this as well but I'm starting to understand them. And while I love, love, love, everyone who reviews and every review I get, I don't feel like I'm getting all the feedback I deserve. I put a lot of effort into this story and I barely get reviews anymore. I already feel bad about this. Sorry! -Izzy  
**


	22. Chapter 22

**Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! You guys are too kind :)**

 **Koltherine will have a scene next chapter and they will start getting more time together. I hope you guys like Kol in this chapter, I didn't want him to stop being the loveable psychopath we all feel inlove with.**

 **Sage has been written a plot for the sequel, so don't worry about that. -Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-TWO**

 **Thursday 12/10**

 **Noon**

 **The Compound**

"Ah, Nik," Kol said, his arms raised as he strutted through the compound to meet his brother at the door. His new hybrids, about twenty of them, were pulling up in trucks and vans behind him, beginning to unload their bags and boxes, preparing to move in. "I do believe you're a tad late to the party."

"What are you talking about?" Klaus said, trying to storm past Kol, who moved to block his entry into the building. Kol looked pretty casual, as if he was right at home with no shoes, skinny jeans and a brown t-shirt with sleeves to his elbows. His hair was messy and his hands were still at his sides.

"Well, you came to moved your hybrids into the Compound," Kol said, his face making a sarcastically regretful and pitying look. "The small problem, is, my brother, is that this building is already inhabited by something... a lot classier that your half-breeds."

"What did you do?" Klaus growled. Kol paused before audibly sighing, as if he didn't want to show Klaus, but he had to. He moved to one side and let Klaus through into the courtyard where the two brothers stopped. Some of Klaus's hybrids stopped at the door when Klaus ordered them to.

"Everyone," Kol called out to the courtyard that was empty but himself, Klaus, and Klaus's hybrids. "I would like you to come and meet my dear big brother." There was a pause and Klaus was about to snigger and make a joke about Kol talking to rats before there was a commotion and a huge crowd filed out of every door, people came out from behind every corner until the courtyard was stacked with people, every inch of the balcony was packed with the crowd. But it was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. The crowd, like Kol, looked at though they were right at home in the Compound, in casual clothes, even a few in pyjama's and slippers. Kol held his hands up to them, as if they were something he was proud of creating and wanted to rub them in Klaus's face. "This is Niklaus," Kol said. "Nik, these are the vampires of New Orleans. They live here."

"You..." Klaus paused. "You've made a vampire army of your own?"

Kol nodded, smiling. "Well, what's life without friends? No, that's a serious question, I'm genuinely wondering what your sad little life is like-"

"Am I supposed to be scared of a few baby vampires in pyjamas?" Klaus growled, angrily. "You've been looking for an excuse since you came back to life, haven't you? A reason to get under my skin? Well, brother, my argument with Rebekah had nothing to do with you-"

Kol laughed. "You think I started this when you and Rebekah's little spat began? I started this as soon as I came back to life. Someone has to teach you that you can't kill the ones you love over and over again and expect them to _let_ you have everything you want."

"So you're what?" Klaus yelled to the crowd. "Taking back the French Quarter with these children? Against my hybrids? Hybrids beat vampires every time."

Kol sucked air through his teeth, regretfully. "Indeed, they do... but let me just tell you what I've been up to this past month. I've been scouring the Earth for all vampire-researching humans who decided they wanted the vampire life via a little tool the 21st century has called the internet. I told them to all come to New Orleans where I turned them, gave them strength, speed, power, immortality, all for the price of their loyalty. Turns out, a lot of people want Vampirism. A had to turn a few unwilling ones, just to touch up the numbers but I have exactly 200 vampires in my court. That's ten to each of your newbie hybrids, who haven't got a clue how to defend themselves without turning into wolves which will take hours of pain and torment. My vampires, however, have been trained and know how to fight and how to kill hybrids. Then there's the problem of you, but I think I can take you, especially with the help of my army after they rid New Orleans of your Puppy Army. Oh, and then there's our obvious advantage. Not the numbers, or the skill, or me."

"And what would that be?" Klaus snarled, stepping towards Kol.

Kol smirked. "You can only ever have limited hybrids," Kol smiled. "With the lack of human doppelgänger blood, these will only ever be the only ones in existence. You can't replace them. I can always replace any fallen warrior of my own until you're completely outnumbered."

Klaus growled, watching as more and more of Kol's vampires started to show their Vampirism, with their red eyes and fangs. He looked back at his hybrids who were looking at Kol's huge 'kingdom' with fear in their eyes. The older brother sighed. "I must ask what you expect to do with your kingdom other than threaten me?"

"Oh, mainly just piss you off," Kol said, raising his hands again. "Wave in your face everything you could have had. You took everything from us Klaus. You took every man Rebekah has ever loved, you ran Sage away from Finn, you forced Katerina away from Elijah for five hundred years, you have killed our mother, you have drove daggers through our hearts and carted us around in boxes. You have _ruined_ the last 1000 years of my life, so now I am going to ruin the next 1000 years of yours. Then we can look back, evaluate, call it even and ride our hover cars to therapy to try and fix our relationship but until then, I am going to take away everything that you want. Rebekah and Elijah already hate you, Finn's being neutral, but you don't really want him, not that you have him. Yes, you have Caroline, but she'll one day leave you. And yes, I'm going to let you keep your hybrids, as long as you turn around and leave our home, but what is the use of a powerless army? What is the point in being a king with nothing to rule but twenty mutts? With no kingdom? You're nothing."

A growl had been let out of Klaus, his eyes yellow, the whites red and visible veins with blood running beneath them, his fangs being exposed so fast they pierced his lips. "Everything I did," he said, stepping forward, "I did because I loved and cared about you-"

"Oh, sure, it felt so brotherly and loving when you plotted to have me suffer," Kol said, his voice lowering to have more of a private conversation with Klaus. "When I was only trying to save the world from Silas, who I believed with bring Hell on Earth. When I was only trying to save you all and your plotted to hurt me. And, Jesus Christ, it was so loving when you mourned my death for five minutes after letting Jeremy and Elena Gilbert kill me. Thanks for your love, brother, but I think, with all the pain it's caused me, I'm better without it."

"I'm warning you, Kol," Klaus said. "Don't begin a war with me you'll never be able to finish. I've already lost so much..."

Kol paused, debating for a second whether or not to be generous. "And you're about to lose a whole lot more," he whispered back, pushing Klaus away from him.

"So it's going to be like this, then, is it?" Klaus asked the entire room. "War?"

"Sure," Kol said. "What do you have to lose?"

 **Thursday 12/10**

 **13:28pm**

 **Mikael's House**

"This is the place?" Klaus asked as he got out of the drivers side of his car, surveying the large house he was looking up at.

"Well, I don't remember, do I?" Katherine asked, climbing out of the back of the car with Elijah. Finn got out of the passenger side and leaned against the car.

"The GPS of Mikael's phone, the one he used to call Finn, came from here," Elijah said, putting his hand on Katherine's hip, rather protectively. He knew Klaus was still angry with him for siding with Rebekah and he dreaded to think of all the ways he could take his anger out on Katerina. "Play the voice-mail again," he requested.

Finn took out his smart phone, something that had taken him a while to learn how to use, and played the message from Mikael. _Finn, I know you're not yourself right now but when you come around, wake up and remember who you are and what you believe in I would still like your help. If you ever want mine, with anything within my morals, give me a call on this number._

"I think you better stay out here," Klaus said to Finn, patting his big brother on the shoulder. "In case this doesn't work, we could always use a spy."

"Yes, you can protect Katerina while you're out here," Elijah said.

"What?" Katherine asked, crossing her arms and facing him. "I'm coming in with you. Bitch threw me all the way to the Marigny Bywater. I plan on taking a leaf out of Rebekah's book and whip him to death with his own spine."

"Technically Rebekah whipped other people with their friends spine," Finn pointed out.

"Either way, Katerina's was a good idea," Klaus said. "We better write that down, I intend to use that."

"Mikael is too dangerous for you," Elijah said, holding Katherine's hand. "He has already attacked you and his witch has wiped your memories once-"

"Yeah, along with Kol," Katherine pointed out. "And you're not any stronger than him. Besides, if anything, I'm going to be better at this than you because I can handle that pesky aneurysm thing that witches do. I can at least draw fire."

"Unquestionably not," Elijah said. "You will remain out here where it's safer."

She pouted as Elijah kissed her forehead and went inside the house with Klaus after the hybrid kicked the door down. "You're not going to stay put, are you?" Finn asked, still leaning against the car, his arms also crossed.

She sucked her teeth for a second, as if considering her options. "No," she said. "I never do as I'm told, after all. Are you going to break their rules with me or not?" Before Finn could say anything a car pulled up and Mikael got out, surveying the Originals car and her broken door. Finn and Katherine had used their vampire speed to hide behind a pair of trees.

"I go kill Mikael," Katherine suggested. "And prove to Elijah, once and for all that I don't need saving or protecting."

"You need the stake and Klaus has it." Finn asked. "And what's to stop Mikael from killing you?"

"My unflinching ability to survive," she smiled. "Now go and distract the boys while I have a lovely meet-the-parent session."

Finn paused before running off upstairs. Katherine stepped out as Mikael was about to enter his house through his broken front door. Katherine zoomed over to him and pressed him against the wall, her hand around his neck as his face pressed against the house. "Rebekah?" Mikael asked, not seeing his attacker.

"Nope," Katherine said, flipping him around to face her before slamming his back against the wall. "I'm just a little gift of pain she sent."

Mikael grabbed the front of her jacket and threw her, sending Katherine flying against one of the banisters of the porch. "No, you're that insufferable vampire Elijah's been dotting on. Let me tell you something, Katerina Petrova. You may have had Stefan and Damon Salvatore and all other boys you meet wrapped around you're pinky finger, but you will never be good enough for my son."

"Well, I only wanted to say hello," Katherine said as Elijah ran out and took Mikael by the neck, throwing him against the back wall. Finn and Klaus also came rushing out just as Mikael used his vampire speed to run away before any of them could catch him.

 **Thursday 12/10**

 **15:58pm**

 **The Condo**

Katherine paid the witch at the door. She handed over $200 in cash to the woman she had known for a while. Katherine owed her a favour anyway, and this would only have put her in more debt, so she had to pay her off. All the other witches she knew were complete idiots who didn't know how to perform the small spell Katherine asked of her.

She thanked her before closing the door on her and walking back into her apartment. "I've never really been a fan of inspirational speech," she said, hoisting herself up onto the breakfast bar in front of Finn, who sat on one of the stools, "but you genuinly did... not bad, considering it was your first time trying not to get an aneurysm... Okay, yeah, this speech is shit..."

"Instead of talking, then," Finn said, "may I propose a round of whatever alcohol you have?" Katherine raised an eyebrow at the not-very-Finn-like suggestion. She hopped down and walked over to her fridge, opening it and finding not a lot of options.

"We have a lot of red wine," Katherine said. "But's that's kind of romantic, and you'd have to buy me dinner first. Aha, beer." She bought out two of Caroline's bottles and handed one to Finn. They cracked them open and Finn drained his before Katherine's even touched her lips. "Alright, there? I mean, I know you've had a rough hour, but-"

"I'm fine," he growled, slamming his bottle down on the counter. "Another."

"Yeah, I'm not the kind of girl to serve beer on demand," she shrugged, sipping her own. "There's more in the fridge." He got up to find one. "Finn... I'm never very empathetic but are you okay?"

"I said, I'm fine," he said, draining another beer before pausing. "I need to leave. I'm going to go home."

"You want a lift or something?" she asked. He shook his head as he closed and slammed the door. He used his enhanced speed to run back to the Mikaelson Mansion. Elijah was just leaving to visit Katherine and Klaus was out with Caroline and Rebekah was with Kol at the compound so Finn was all alone.

Except he wasn't, because there was life everywhere. Real life, not the existence his siblings called life. He heard blood gushing in his ear, but it wasn't his, it was the veins of the nearby maid, pumping blood around her body. He felt the heat of the sweet red nectar from the gardener outside. He sweated the scent of his blood as he worked. He saw another maid walk past him, her cheeks red and rosy with blood...

"No," he growled in an undertone to himself. "I'm fine."

They're people. He can't hurt people. They had lives, and family and they were good, honest people. They had more of a right to their blood than Finn did, it was theirs, he couldn't just take it...

But he wanted it. He wanted the taste of the warm red liquid on his tongue, the feel of it trickling down his throat. He wanted the satisfying sound of them dying to ring about his ears. He wanted them dead! He wanted their blood in his body, to quench his hunger...

And then he heard a rip and he didn't care what it was, because he had the delicious taste of blood in his mouth. He heard a scream but it died down quickly. He couldn't move, or speak, or control any part of his body, and he had no idea what was going on because all he saw was red.

His favourite colour.

When Rebekah walked in she felt her face fall in shock. She gasped as she looked around the torn up living room. Finn sat on the floor, surrounded the the entire staff with their heads torn off and they had no more limbs, and... Rebekah expected their to be more blood, but there was a surprisingly small amount. Finn had drank it all, she realized. "Finn?" she asked, looking at her older brother. His eyes were red, but not from his hungry vampire face, from his distraught at the sight of what he did. He was curled up in a ball, like had had been when he was haunted with hallucinations who wanted him to kill himself.

His head snapped around when she spoke to him and he saw the concern on his face. He jumped to his feet. "I'm fine," he said. He begun to walk to Rebekah.

"Dear God, you're a Ripper," she noted, studdying the bodies. Finn stopped beside her and turned to her angrily.

"I said I'm fine." He was about to walk past her and leave the house, but he stopped and looked at his younger sister. "Don't tell anyone about this. _You_ did this, okay? Not me."

"Finn, nobody'll judge you," she said, trying to sound calm and comforting. "We all want to help you-" She was cut off by Finn's hand around her throat as he slammed her against the wall and lifted her off the ground. His face was full on angry-vampire as he growled at her.

Before he said anything, to prove his point, he took her away from the wall before slamming her against it again. "You did this," he growled, angrily. "Okay? Do you understand?"

"I understand," Rebekah squeaked. Finn was always stronger than her as kids, and he was stronger than her now. "If anyone asks, I did this!" Finn lifted her higher before dropping her so her feet slipped and she fell on her butt. Finn looked down at her as she got up, and into her eyes for a second before looking mortifyed at what he did. He ran out of the house before Rebekah could stop him.

 **Thursday 12/10**

 **22:38pm**

 **The Comdo**

 _You are invited to join_

 _The Mikaelsons_

 _for cocktails, dancing and celebration_

 _at the Saints and Sinners Masquerade Ball_

 _On Saturday 19:00pm_

 _to celebrate the reunion of their family_

"I had nothing to do with it," Rebekah said, reading her invitation. Katherine and Caroline sat opposite her, reading theirs with confusion. "It must be Mikael, hosting the traditional family ball. But as a saints and sinners masquerade. Dull. We had one of them recently."

"Are you going to go?" Katherine asked.

"Of course I'm going to go," Rebekah said. "Father obviously wants us there for a reason. Why not entertain him before we kill him?"

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm probably going to be a saint," Caroline said. "I like being in-character, you know? Why lie about who I am?"

The other two girls paused, looking at her. "How deep," Katherine said. "By that rule, I'm going to get sinnful. What about you, Beks?"

"Sinner," Rebekah said, swirling the wine in her glass. "Okay, this is going to my head. I'm off to bed. Night."

"Night," Caroline said as Rebekah stood up. "Actaully, I'm going to bed as well. Night, Kat."

"Night," Katherine said. The two blondes went to bed and Katherine stood up to wash up their wine glasses. She tidied up the couches and put the invitations on the breakfast bar as there was a knock at the door. She opened it and paused.

Klaus stood on the threshold looking strangly solemn. He raised his eyebrow at Katherine. "One out of three chance you open the door," he said.

"Caroline went to bed," Katherine said. "I'll go and fetch her." She turned around but Klaus stopped her.

"I'm here to see Rebekah," he said. "If you could please get her for me instead. And don't tell her who wants to see her, she won't see me if you do." Katherine paused before nodding. Klaus stepped into the apartment as Katherine went into Rebekah's room.

"Someone's here to see you," she said. The blonde was sat on the edge of her bed taking her shoes off when she looked up at Katherine.

"Who?" she asked.

Instead of answering, Katherine made a gesture for Rebekah to find out for herself. Rebekah stood up and walked past Katherine to the living room where Klaus was reading one of the invitations to Mikael's party.

"What do you want, Klaus?" Rebekah asked. "Did you fail to specify to Katherine which blonde you came here to see?"

Klaus didn't say anything for a second as he looked at his little sister. "I want to stress, first of all, that I am _not_ here because of my latest fight with Kol, and the newelly declared war. I am _not_ here because of Mikael. I am not here because Elijah or Caroline spoke to me. I am here about you and me. And I'm not here to fight with you."

"Then what are you here for?" Rebekah asked, crossing her arms, doubting this would be good.

"I want to give you an apology," he said. "A real one this time. One that you deserve." Rebekah felt her mouth open and her eyes widen. She still wasn't very expectant, but at least, maybe, she was safe. "I'm sorry for losing my temper when you killed my hybrids and I bit you. I'm sorry for repeatedly daggering you over the last thousand years." He paused to look down, ashamed of himself. "I'm sorry for treating you like property. I'm sorry I killed every man you've grown attatched to and for not giving you the free will to fend for yourself. But most of all I'm sorry I haven't been the big brother I should have been all this time when you've been the perfect little sister."

Rebekah paused before sighing. "Thank you," she said, astonished. "I hope we can move past this all..."

"That's why you're an amazing sister," he said. "You always look past the bad stuff and give your brothers a second chance. A billion second chances."

"That's never going to change," she said.

"I really hope not," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back, forgetting all the horrible things he'd done to her, just like that.

* * *

 **Quickly note, I don't know whether it's shown up yet, but my username has changed because some people at school found my tumblr, and it has my username for on there and I didn't want them to read my work. Strangers online, sure. But people in real life... it's a tad embarrassing.**

 **Love you all, please review! -Izzy**


	23. Chapter 23

**I know I promised a Koltherine scene this chapter and so sorry but that's been re-scheduled to next chapter. My bad, sorry! Anyway, thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing! -Izzy  
**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-THREE**

 **Saturday 14/10**

 **13:14pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

"Almost an exact replica," Klaus said, fondly as he ran his hand over the stake in his hand. It was crafted to look almost exactly like the white oak stake, but thankfully, the real stake had been disposed of. Elijah stood opposite Klaus in the living room, looking at the fake stake. "A witch did it for me. If Mikael tries to steal it, he'll get the fake one."

"And where is the real one?" Elijah asked.

"Why?"

Elijah rolled his eyes. Trust Niklaus to be untrusting of his brother. "Because I, Rebekah, Kol and Finn all have as much right to it as you do. And because I can assure you that I trust you less than you trust me."

Klaus touched his heart, as if it hurt. "You wound me. Caroline's got it. I trust her, not only with my life, but the lives of all my siblings, which, for your information, I happen to value more than my own."

"Forgive me if I have trouble believing that," Elijah said as Klaus put the fake stake back in the safe and locked it up. "So will you be a sinner or saint at Mother's masquerade ball tonight?"

"Sinner," Klaus smirked as he fell onto the couch. "As always. What about you?"

"Saint," Elijah answered.

Klaus raised an eyebrow, confused. "Honestly? I would have thought 'sinner' would suit your personality more. Aren't we all sinners in this family? Apart from Finn, perhaps."

"Indeed," Elijah said. "But if we all went as we honestly were, there would be no saints and the theme of the party will be destroyed. I'm going saintly to balance the mix. Rebekah and Kol are planning on going as sinners and Finn will be a saint."

"It'll surely be a night to remember," Klaus smirked. "Now I have to go, I'm afraid. I have some business to attend to on the subject of our youngest brother. I probably won't be home all day, so I'll see you at the party."

"Have a nice day then," Elijah said, absent-mindedly.

 **Saturday 14/10**

 **14:28pm**

 **The Compound**

Kol walked into The Coumpound after visiting Rebekah at the apartment she shared with the girls. He was immediately faced with two of his vampires, his current second in comand, Mackenzie, or Max, and one other: Jim.

"Kol, some of our own were out today," he said, looking nervously over his shoulder, as if he was about to be attacked. "Your brother and his hybrids attacked them."

Kol sighed, looking angry. "How many did we lose?"

"16 vampires," he said, scared.

Kol nodded, pausing. Max put her hand, reassuringly on his arm. "Kol, there's nothing you could have done-"

"Yes there was," Kol said. "Thanks, Jim. Arrange a memorial for tomorrow evening. I'll deal with Klaus."

"Hey," Max said, forcing Kol to look at her when Jim walked away. "You know it wasn't your fault right? You should be allowed freedom without the fear of Klaus killing your friends. You were out with me, and we both made that choice. You knew Klaus was going to try and kill your people when you declared war. It's okay, Kol, don't worry about it."

"I'm going to have to kill his hybrids again," he said. "Those damn rats scuttling around New Orleans..."

There was a pause. "That's tomorrow's problem, okay?" Max said. "Because tonight, we're going to that party and we're going to get drunk and have fun and deal with whatever your father wants, okay? We'll deal with Klaus tomorrow."

"Why are you including yourself in all of this?" he asked.

Max shrugged. "I don't know. I know you can't do this alone. You shouldn't have to and none of your siblings are taking sides anymore. I am, though."

 **Saturday 14/10**

 **15:23pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah rarely went back to her family's house now. She hadn't moved fully into the apartment but was happier there in general, but she still had her room in the mansion. She lay on the bed now with her laptop open, talking to Katherine via social media, which she did not use often. She heard someone walking outside her door and Finn's voice call: "Yeah, I'm home."

Her head snapped up and she got off her bed to run over to the door. She flung it open and grabbed Finn by the arm, dragging him into her bedroom and closing the door behind her to have a private conversation with him. "We need to talk," she said, pushing him back when he tried to leave. She was over a head smaller than him, but she was determined to make him listen.

"What the Hell are you doing?" he asked, flinging his hands in the air in frustration with her.

"What the Hell am _I_ doing?" she scoffed. "What the Hell are _you_ doing? Finn this isn't you! This has never been you!"

"What isn't me?" he growled, menacingly as he stepped closer to her.

"The whole 'scary' thing isn't you," she said, sighing. "You never said 'What the Hell' or 'Yeah'. And you never killed people!" Finn raised an eyebrow at her, angrily.

"Clearly you don't know me at all then," he said. "Because I do kill people. I rip them to shreds and I like it!"

Rebekah rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, sighing before giving him her best judgemental look. "You think you do. Because you're a Ripper. Somehow all the good, innocent vampires are Rippers when they lose control." He tried to cut her off but she countered what he was about to say before he said it. "And you all deny that you've lost control and that's ridiculous. You don't have to push me away, Finn, I want to help you. I won't even tell Elijah, Kol or Nik, It'll just be between us-"

"I don't want to be your secret," he said. "I don't want to be your project. I'm not something that needs to be fixed-"

"Yes you are," she said. "Just because you're the good, innocent brother does not give you the right to be broken about it!"

Finn scoffed. "Wow, Rebekah. Is this even really about me? Or are you linking me to your other 'good, innocent, broken' aquaintance, Stefan Salvatore? You weren't the one to save him, so now you're using me, is that it?"

Rebekah paused, shocked. "No! No, that's not it! I'm trying to help you because you're my brother and I love you-" she found herself having to shout over his laughs. She slapped his arm, looking at her door in case one of the other inhabitants heard them. "Finn! Are you listening to me? Hey!"

"You love me, right," he said. "Have I ever heard a bigger joke?"

She felt her eyes widen and she opened her mouth to speak but found no words so she pouted for a second before turning angrily to him. "I do love you. I have always loved you. You are my family, Finn! And this isn't about Stefan, it's about you! The kind, loving, good you, not this version of you!"

"Leave me alone, Rebekah," Finn growled, pushing Rebekah into a wall so he could get past.

 **Saturday 14/10**

 **19:00pm**

 **Saints and Sinners Masquerade Ball**

Katherine was vaguely reminded of her centuries spent in a corset. Her dress was a corset from the waist up with no sleeves, a low back and black straps. Below her waist it was short, frilly skirts to just below her butt. Her shoes where knee-high boots that consisted of black straps all up her calves and five-inch heels. Her hair was all pushed to one side and was thicker than usual with more, smaller curls. She wore a black, decorative mask that went over both eyes and was shaped like a butterfly. She strutted into the ballroom like she owned the place and quickly found a drink.

Elijah found her almost instantly. Of course, they were both masked. He wore an all-white suit, which was very rare to see and a silver mask that only covered half his face. She saw him stare at her skimpy outfit and smirk. "Good evening," he said.

She pouted, wanting to have a little fun. "I don't converse with saints. You're going to have to do something sinful to get my attention."

Elijah sucked his teeth, pretending displeasement with her little games, but she knew he loved it really. He moved closer to where she sat on her barstool and slip his hand along her bare thigh, reaching just under her little skirt. "Show me to the nearest broom closet and I'll do something _very_ sinful to you."

She smirked. "Well, technically I'm in a relationship" she mused, jokingly, cocking her head. "But I am a sinner. I just hope Elijah won't punish me."

"Let's dance," he said, making her stand up. Even in heels she was shorter than him. He lead her onto the dancefloor and spun her around.

"Hm, saintly Elijah," she mused. "Aren't you going to fufill your saintly duties and reprimend me for my outfit?"

He smirked. "I certainly have no problem with your lack of skirt," he said, winking. "Except the unfortunate amount of attention from other men. I'm afraid I will have to shed my saintly skin to rip their hearts out if they continue to stare so provocatively at you. Not that I can blame them."

Katherine's pout melted into a smile.

Kol walked into the ballroom dressed in an all-black suit and a black eye mask with gold outlines and patterns. His hair was spiked and messy and on his arm was a beautiful girl. Max, one of his vampires, had ended up going as a saint in a plain, light pink dress with a thin, black belt around her waist and a one-shoulder strap with gold jewelry and high, gold, strappy shoes and a gold mask that ran, decoratively, around her eyes. Her black hair was in a half-up, half-down wavy style.

"Fancy party," she observed, looking nervously at all the decorations. "Only a little intimidating. Do you think Klaus will cause trouble here, or will he ignore you and go for Mikael?"

Kol paused, thinking about it. "Klaus will hurt anyone who pisses him off. He won't prioritize."

Max nodded. "Okay, well we'll just have to avoid them both and try to come up with an Anti-Mikael plan with the rest of your siblings."

He paused. "Dance with me first."

She laughed. "I don't dance," she said. "I have two left feet and neither of them work."

Kol pulled her onto the dance floor anyway. "I'll lead," he promised.

Rebekah spent the whole evening looking for Finn. She came to the conclusion that he just wasn't there and was about to leave the party to search for him, force her help upon him before he hurt someone else and it destroyed him, but she was pulled over by her father before she could leave. Mikael surveyed her outfit, sighing. "At least you're honest about being a sinner." Rebekah looked down at her outfit. She wore a dress that looked like a peice of red lace repeatedly wrapped around her with a push-up, sweetheart neckline and no shoulders but red lace sleeves down to her wrists. It was a short dress that she wore with red ankle boots, a black choker around her neck and a black, floral mask that she held up with a stick. Her blonde hair was paper-straight.

"What do you want?" Rebekah asked, crossing her arms.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said. "We haven't spoken since I was resurrected."

"That's because I have nothing to say," Rebekah said. "You spent the last 1000 years trying to kill me. What am I supposed to say?'Hi, Daddy, great to see you'?"

Mikael rolled his eyes. "Why did you dress so provocatively, Rebekah?" he asked. "I ask only that you leave to put on more layers."

Rebekah scoffed, angrier than ever. "No! I dress the way I want to. I am over a thousand years old. I am not a child and you have no right at all to tell me what to wear. I don't have a dress code."

"This party is meant to be for adults and you are not acting like one," he said.

"I don't give a damn," she said. "Leave me the bloody hell alone." She shook him off and walked past him, ready to leave the party and find Finn, terrified of what he could be doing.

"Rebekah," said a voice at the door. Wren stood there, dressed as a saint with a glass of champagne in his hand. "Hey, I was hoping to see you here."

She rolled her eyes. Great. She was never getting out of there. "I can assure you the feeling is completely one-sided. I'm leaving anyway."

"Why?" he asked. "Are you okay? You seem distressed."

"I wonder why," she said sarcastically. "I don't have time to chat."

"Well, I feel like we have to," Wren said, putting his empty champagne glass on the silver platter of a passing waiter. "I mean, even though we're not together, we're still going to see each other around New Orleans-"

"Okay, well if you're not going to shut up," Rebekah said, walking past him to the door of the ballroom, "then you're going to have to come with me."

Klaus spun Caroline, his little saint, around on the dancefloor. She was getting giddy with all the champagne she had been drinking that night so everything Klaus did was apparently hilarious. "Let's go find an empty room," she whispered in his ear.

"No, sweetheart you're drunk," he said. "It's improper."

"I'm not drunk, I'm just a little tipsy," she mused. "And it's not very improper if we're in a relationship anyway."

"In a relationship or not," Klaus said. "You still have to be completely sober for your consent to mean anything."

"Such a gentleman," she laughed. "You're not as evil as everyone thinks you are."

"I'm much more evil than that," he said. "But I'm also a feminist. And you have a right to a drink or two without being taken advantage of."

"I'm not even drunk," she repeated. "Just a little tipsy. Okay, fine, this is your fathers party anyway, and I'm meant to be a saint." She was dressed like it. She wore a short white cocktail dress with a floral design of pink springtime blossoms. She wore high white heels and silver jewellery and her wavy golden hair was down and loose.

"You look incredible tonight, sweetheart," he said, leaning down and kissed her. Even in heels he was taller than her. She smiled up at him.

"I love you," she said. He was dressed like a sinner in a dark suit and red shirt, his hair a little messy.

"I love you, too," he said, twirling her as they danced.

 **Saturday 14/10**

 **19:35pm**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah strutted into the house with Wren behind her, constantly talking about how she's been and what she's been up to but she didn't answer him or reply in any way. She walked straight into the living room and gasped. Once again, Finn had killed. There was another dead body on the floor of the living room, a butler with his neck ripped open and his arms ripped off.

"Oh my God," Wren said when he saw the body.

"My brother, Finn..." she said. "He's been having a hard time since the curse." She thought about everything she used to tell Wren and how it had made her feel better every time. She didn't tell him about Finn though. "Finn?" she called through the house. There was no response.

She began walking from room to room, Wren behind her. He was quiet then. Finally she walked into the drawing room and screamed.

Finn was lying dead on the floor, the white-oak-stake in his heart and his hand around it. He did it to himself, he killed himself. She ran to his side, her head falling onto his chest as she began to sob. Wren rushed to her side, his arm going straight around her shoulder. She let herself be comforted, her head leaning into him as she tried not to scream again.

"Wait," Wren said, barely more than a whisper.

"I can't," she croaked, tears streaming down her face as she shook Finn, trying to wake him up. Wren seperated from her and moved to the other side of the body. He pulled the stake from Finn's heart, despite Rebekah crying 'Don't!'.

Wren tried to tell her something but she didn't hear it, she was beyond listening. Her brother was dead – again! She didn't want to listen, she just wanted to have her moment. "Rebekah, listen to me," Wren said, shaking her shoulder to snap her out of her moment. She turned to him, her vision clouded with tears. "It's a fake," he said.

"What?" she said, breathily.

"The stake," he said, holding up the bloody, white-oak-stake. "It's not real. It's just regular wood. Finn will wake up in about an hour or so."

"It's not real?" Rebekah asked, calming down.

"It's not real," Wren confirmed. "He'll be fine."

Rebekah straightened up, wiping the tears from her face and swallowing the sob that had been building up in her throat. She turned to Wren and snatched the fake-stake away from him. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this!"

He nodded. "Okay, I won't. Whoever did this must have thought this was the real stake. If it was, Finn would be dead." At least Wren didn't realise that Finn had did that to himself, had tried to take his own life.

Even though he wasn't permanantly dead, the thought of her brother, someone she loved, trying to take his own life – it was enough for a few stray tears to crawl down her face. "You should go," Rebekah said to Wren. "I don't want my family to come back and find you near a dead Finn. They'll probably immediately assume the worst and kill you despite the bloody curse."

Wren nodded as he stood up. He walked around Finn and kissed Rebekah's forehead. "I know you say you hate me but if you need somebody to talk to-"

Rebekah shot up to her feet and pushed Wren away so hard he fell into the wall across the room. "I have three other brothers and two close friends," she said, angrily. "I don't need you and I don't want you. And I don't want to run into you at any parties or gala's or at Java Jones when I get coffee with my friends. I don't want you in New Orleans any more. You have three days to get out."

 **Saturday 14/10**

 **20:28pm**

 **Maquerade Ball**

Klaus excused himself from the party for five minutes to run to his car and get a bloodbag. He was hungry and didn't want to eat the sociolites. He walked through the parking lott and opened the trunk door, looking around for his cooler when he noticed the stench coming from the front of his car. He opened the drivers door growled at what he saw.

Three of his hybrids, with their heads torn off and balanced back on were sitting in the front seats. One was positioned as if he were about to drive and the other two were in the passenger seat, looking out the window. But they were all very dead. There was a note tacked to the windshield that Klaus pulled off and read.

 _These puppies were the ones who were a little restless today. I was forced to punish them for their unruly behaviour. Next time, instead of killing my vampires, I would suggest they go for walks 1-2 times a day. -Love, Kol_

As he read the note he felt a large needle being plunged into his neck and blood being drawn out. He turned to face his little brother growling and Kol just waved the needle of blood in front of him. It was pretty big and could hold a lot which made Klaus the slightest bit woozy and a little paler. "This is incase I have some bites to heal soon," Kol explained. "You get a lot of wild dogs around here."

* * *

 **QUICK NOTE: I was thinking about submitting this story for the Inkitt competition. Honestly I doubt it would get very far, but it was just something I was thinking about. It would have to be completed which means updates will probably come very quickly over the next couple of days if I do decide to take it. I only have about 4 chapters left to go on this story. Anyway, tell me what you think. Should I do it?**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey everyone, thanks for reading and reviewing. This chapter isn** **'t edited or anything, bit I think it's alright, if a little short. -Izzy  
**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-FOUR**

 **Monday 16/10**

 **10:17am**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

It was just Finn and Klaus in the house that morning. Elijah went to see Katherine, Kol was at the Compound with his vampires, Caroline and Rebekah were both at their own place. Finn had woken up a couple nights before with the first thought that he was on the Other Side. However, when Rebekah started angrily crying at him he realised the stake he had used was fake.

He had threatened Rebekah into keeping it quiet and she promised she would do so. He, in the mean time, was trying to figure out where the real stake was. He loved his family and appreciated them bringing him back to life, but the only reason he really wanted to continue living was because Sage had wanted it. But Sage was dead. At least on the Other Side he had her.

"Good morning, Finn," Klaus said, him and Finn walking into the living room at the same time from two different entrances. "Had enough bunnies to sustain your hunger for the day?" Finn paused, sucking his teeth. He had grown tired of Niklaus and his snarky jokes on his behalf. He was 1000 years old, did he not have the right to choose his own lifestyle? "You know, I don't think bunnies are as nutritious as they seem to be. Perhaps you should try deer-"

"Just shut up, Nik," Finn growled, angrily glaring at his brother. Honestly, he wished he could go back on the bunny diet. Anything to keep him away from the staff or the civilians.

"Ooh, cranky," Klaus observed. "That's the squirrels, mate." He patted Finn shoulder condescendingly and before Finn could speak he grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind Klaus back.

"You need to shut up," Finn said. He had killed two people that morning and he already wasn't happy about it. And he didn't want Klaus to piss him off a little too much because he didn't want to hurt his brother.

Klaus pulled his arm out of Finn's grip and threw Finn against the wall. "Don't threaten or manhandle me!" he exclaimed, swaggering towards Finn who waisted no time. He picked Klaus up and threw him against the other wall. He slammed into it and fell to the ground.

"Don't condescend me," Finn said, strutting over to him and picking him up by his next before throwing him against the china cabinet, breaking everything inside. "Did it ever occur to you that you don't know me as well as you think you do? That I'm not as innocent as I appear?"

"Clearly you're not," Klaus said, shaking broken pieces of glass and china off him. "I didn't think you had any fight in you. Come on then, show me how bad you really are."

Finn snapped off a wooden chair leg and ran at Klaus with it, about to stab it into his gut when Klaus punched him in the face. Finn tried to stab him again when Klaus grabbed his arm. Finn turned the wood around and stabbed Klaus's wrist with it to make him let go. "I don't have to prove anything to you," Finn said, about to it Klaus when Rebekah ran in and pushed Klaus away, behind her. She put her hands out in front of his to stop Finn.

"Stop it!" she ordered of the both of them.

"He started it," Klaus said, before realising he sounded like a whiny kid. Siblings always had a way of bringing the kid out of someone.

"I don't give a damn," Rebekah said. She turned to Finn as Klaus stormed out. "What are you doing? I don't believe for a second you're the person you've been acting like lately."

"Well, clearly you don't know me as well as you think you do," he said, pushing past her. He was becoming extremely frustrated with Rebekah's obsession with his case. "Just leave me alone!"

 **Monday 16/10**

 **Noon**

 **The Apartment**

Caroline ran through a mental checklist in her mind. She had just packed her bag with everything she would need for her afternoon classes and she was rushing out the door, already late. She ran as she looked through her bag for her keys and ended up slamming into a hard chest.

"Klaus, I-" she started, looking up to who she expected to be her boyfriend and gasped. She stumbled back from the man who had broken his way into her apartment.

"Caroline, I presume?" Mikael asked in his very-British accent. "I was hoping I would catch you."

Caroline reached for her phone – Klaus was on speed-dial, but Mikael slapped it out of her hand and across the room. "What do you want from me?" she asked, backing away from Mikael who kept walking towards her.

"I need a favour," he said.

She shook her head, backing into the kitchen counter. "I'm not going to be your little spy or anything."

"I don't really think you get a choice in the matter," he said, walking towards her. He approached her and she told herself to calm down, he couldn't compel her when she wore her vervain necklace. It was designed in a way so the vervain didn't actually touch her skin so she didn't get hurt by it. Mikael must of noticed the vervain around her neck because he tore the necklace off and threw it across the room, despite squeals and exclaims of 'No'.

"God, I'm starving," he said. He ran his hand through her hair and she tried to punch him or to push him away but he was a lot older and stronger and more powerful than she was, and he kept her still as he pulled her head back and bit into her neck. She squealed more in frustration of her powerlessness than any pain. When he finished feeding from her he pushed her to the floor and knelt down next to her. No matter how hard she tried, he forced her to look into his eyes. She kept closing them or looking away, doing anything she could to resist. "Look at me!" he ordered.

"No," she said, her voice a little more high-pitched than usual as she tried to break away, forcing herself not to look into his eyes. "No, I won't! I won't be compelled by you!"

He kept forcing her to look at him until finally she accidently looked into his eyes and he started compelling. "You have the white-oak-stake. I want you to fetch it and give it to me. You will meet me every night at midnight at the alley behind Roseau to inform my of Niklaus's plans. You will not tell any one that I am using you or that I compelled you, or that you even saw me. If Niklaus should find out, you say you have been working with me out of your own free will from the very beginning. Are we clear?"

"We're clear," Caroline said in a trance.

 **Monday 16/10**

 **13:32pm**

 **Mid-City**

Klaus was wandering through the streets, trying to come up with some sought of apology to give Finn for antagonizing him earlier that morning. He was trying to be a better person to his siblings, or most of them anyway. He heard a cry of pain he recognised coming from a few streets away.

"Kol," he muttered. He took off running in the direction of the sound and reached an empty, abandoned street and found his baby brother surrounded by his hybrids in the middle of the road. All of his hybrids. And he had been completely taken by surprise so he was overpowered. "Shit," Klaus muttered as he saw at least three of his hybrids bite his brother.

"Hey," he yelled, running over to him. "I did not authorize this!"

"We thought this was what you wanted," one of them said. "We all thought you hated him."

Klaus paused as Kol dropped to the ground, the power of multiple bites affecting him much faster and harder than one would. "How dare you?" Klaus growled. "Get back to the base. NOW!" His minions ran off terrified of his wrath. Klaus crouched by Kol and put a hand on his back. "You'll be fine," Klaus said.

"I thought you wanted to see my like this," Kol said. "You bit me yourself only a week ago. What makes this any different?"

"This wasn't my doing," Klaus said, rolling back one of his sleeves. "I'm the only one who's allowed to bit you." He bit into his own wrist and pressed it to Kol's mouth, despite his struggles. He made his little brother drink his blood and heal from the werewolf venom.

Klaus sat back against the wall of one of the empty, boarded up shops and sighed, stressed. Kol did the same on the very opposite side of the road as he finished healing. He was still a tiny bit weak. "Are you okay?" Klaus asked.

"I'm fine," Kol replied. "What about you?"

Klaus sniggered. "I'm dandy. Kol I don't want to fight you anymore. I want this war to be over. I don't like fighting you and I don't want you to get hurt anymore."

Then it was Kol's turn to snigger. "At least I've been trying to play fair. You've noticed I haven't let my army kill your yet. Even though they could."

"They possibly could," Klaus corrected. "Kol, how can we make this right?"

"Go back in time and don't dagger me, don't take away chunks of my life, don't make me watch you put Rebekah in Hell, don't take Finn away from me for 900 years," Kol said. "God damn it, we may be living in the future but it's such a shame they haven't invented time machines yet."

Klaus just rolled his eyes. "I already apologised for all of that. You are right, you are the only sibling I truly fear because you will not forgive me in the name of our family. But I can't go back in time and fix everything I did. I would if I could. But I can't. And apologizing is not enough in your book, so please, Kol. Tell me what I can do to get you to forgive me, so we can move past this."

There was a long pause, the brothers sat motionless on oppisite sides of the empty street and Kol thought for a minute. "Give me my brother back," he said, simply.

Klaus was instantly confused. "Finn's alive and undaggered. Elijah's alive and healthy. If you mean Henr-"

"No, I don't mean Henrik," Kol said. "I never have and never will blame you for what happened to him. You didn't take him from me. And I'm not talking about Finn or Elijah either. I'm talking about you. Just be my brother again. Because..." he thought for a while, trying to come up with a reason why he wanted the old Klaus back. "Because I just want my brother back. That's all there is to it."

Klaus paused, his head leaning back against the shop before he stood up and started walking down the quiet street, without saying a single word.

 **Monday 16/10**

 **23:45pm**

 **Marigny Bywater**

Rebekah had told her to meet her at a certain dock 23:45. It was a secluded area, past a small forest by the waterside. She stood on the end of a short, thin dock, her arms crossed as she waited. She tapped her foot until, finally, a witch began to walk up the dock to her. "Miss Mikaelson," she greeted politely.

Rebekah nodded to her. "Hi," she said. "I need your help with something."

"I figured as much," the witch – a tall middle-aged woman with ratty brown hair – said. "That's all you vampires ever say to witches. But, nonetheless, if I can I will help. For the right price."

Rebekah nodded. "If you can help me with this, then anything you ever wanted can be yours. I just need this problem to go away."

"Well?" the witch asked. "What's this problem you so intensely loathe?"

Rebekah paused. "It's my brother. He's also a vampire, an Original. Usually he's so... controlled. He had always survived off the animal diet, he never purposely kills the innocent... He had the hunters curse a couple weeks ago. He got a drop of human blood and he hasn't been the same since. He's been out of control, he kills and he doesn't mean to, I can tell he doesn't mean to. And he doesn't want to. He is hurting and he won't let me help."

"What exactly are you asking?" the witch asked.

Rebekah paused again, feeling tears begin to well up in her eyes. She had known the witch for about a year and they weren't close, but Rebekah knew she was powerful, so she had called for a favour. "Can you – is there anything you could do, a spell, or even a curse to take the blood lust away? I just don't want him to hurt anymore."

The witch paused, her face falling as she looked sad. "I know there are some vampires who try to live by a decent way. And I feel for them because there is honestly nothing to do about the constant, painful blood lust that will always control them. Tell your brother I'm sorry."

"Wait," Rebekah pleaded as the witch tried to walk back up the dock. "Wait, please! Do you know anyone that could help him? Have you even ever heard a rumour? Anything? Please! I've never begged before in my life so you can see how serious I am about this."

"There's nothing I can do," the witch said, walking away from Rebekah.

The blonde Original turned to the lake, letting the witch get away. So much for that then. She wondered where else she could look for help and came up with a short mental list of witches who may be able to help. For the first time, she mildly regretted letting Davina Claire die. The water was calm that day, clear. She wished her mind could be like that.

As she turned she jumped a little and gasped. Finn was stood at the end of the dock, blocking her path off. He was leaning on two wooden railings on either side of the wooden plank and was looking very angrily at her. "What are you doing here, sister?"

Rebekah gulped a little. She tried not to be afraid of Finn but with the way he'd been acting lately, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. "I was just-"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" he said. "I don't need your help! Just stay out of this, Rebekah, I'm fine."

"Have you turned it off?" she asked.

He paused. "What? No, of course I haven't!"

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, that's the only reason I can think of why you would be acting this way!"

"What way?"

"Like you don't care," she said. "Like you don't care that you're killing innocent people, that you honestly hate me for trying to help which I know you don't! You do care, Finn, so stop pretending that you don't!"

He sucked his teeth. "You don't know me half as well as you think you do, Rebekah. Know when your aid is not welcome."

* * *

 **Hours to write, seconds to review! -Izzy**


	25. Chapter 25

**Hey! Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing. So sorry for two things!**

 **1\. I forgot the Koltherine last chapter, even though I promised it like two chapters ago. There's definitely some in this chapter and next chapter, I swear.  
**

 **2\. I was going to update yesterday but I had a migraine so I was trying to stay away from screens.**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-FIVE**

 **Tuesday 17/10**

 **00:01am**

 **Alleyway**

Caroline tried to keep it together as she stood outside of Roseau. Her bottom lip was trembling slightly and her arms were crossed over her chest and the stake. She already had at least three drunks/perverts come up and try to take her home and all of them had ended up with concussion and on the main road so hopefully someone could find them and take them to hospital. Or rehab.

Finally, Mikael walked up the alley to her. "Good evening," he said, strutting over.

She looked around at the dark sky. "It's not the evening," she pointed out, trying to act brave even if she wasn't entirely.

"I would bid you good night, but that is something one says on departure," Mikael said, reaching her and waiting.

"Well, you're late, so," she said, "you can wish me good morning and hopefully good riddance." Her arms forced her to take out the stake and press it into his outstretched hand.

"Thank you," he said, tucking it into the inside pocket of his jacket. "This will surely help me destroy the burdens I help cast upon this world."

"Discuss it with your therapist," Caroline said, throwing him the sarcastic smile she used to save for Klaus. "Now, if you'll excuse me I'll think I'll go home and try to find a loophole in your compulsion."

"See you tomorrow," he said absent-mindedly as she began to walk away.

She turned back to him, confused. "What's happening tomorrow?" she asked.

He looked at her like she was a complete idiot. "Well you're coming back," he said. "To tell me Klaus's plans. I'm going to need a spy and I originally wanted that Katherine girl. Cunning, hates Klaus. But I found you first, so you'll have to do."

"Touching," she said, sighing. "Look, I really don't think Klaus is planning anything and even if he was, I don't know about it."

Mikael closed the distance between, lifting her chin up to make her look him in the eye. "Well you will find out," he compelled. He had kept her vervain necklace and compelled her to stay away from the stuff so he could easily compell her.

"I will find out," Caroline promised in a trance before snapping out of it and rolling her eyes. "You're an ass."

"You're brave," he said. "Talking to me like that. But I'm in too much of a good mood to kill you. I have a spy, I have the white-oak-stake – Thank God!"

"No, thank _Caroline_ ," she corrected. "Look, I may not be able to tell the Originals about this, but mark my words I will find a way to stop you, whether that be manipulating them into finding out about this on their own or killing you by myself, I will find a way to stop you from hurting the people that I love."

"Compelling you to keep quiet about this included manipulating them into finding out on their own," he said. "And I am a 1000 year old Original vampire holding the only weapon that can kill me just out of you're, a baby vampire's, reach. I do admire your ambition, though. Maybe however, instead of threatening me, you can go and see if you can get a brain from where you got that impulsive courage."

"Maybe you can come with me," she said, cocking her head. "See if you can get a heart."

"You must think you're so saintly compared to me," he said. "But you've killed, just like every other vampire. You have no place in this world discussing what is good or right. You're no saint, either."

"I don't think I'm a saint," she said, sniggering. "I think I'm a person. I also think you're a person. It's not my fault that some people are just better than other people."

 **Tuesday 17/10**

 **02:15am**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

"You've got to be kidding me," Rebekah exclaimed, entering the house after Finn and closing the door behind her. It had been a couple hours since they met at the dock and they had been delayed home due to their continued arguing. "You're crazy if you honestly think I am going to stop trying to help you."

"I know you won't stop trying," Finn said, turning to her. "Which does not insure I will be happy about the subject. I'm fine."

"No you're not," she said, angrily. "My older brother is fine. You're not yourself, you're out of control and you won't let me help! I know you don't want to be like this so I don't see why you won't let me-"

"Maybe I do like being like this," he said. "Maybe I'm a – what did you call it? A Ripper? Maybe I'm one of them because I like it. I am a vampire, Rebekah, we all are. Why are you focusing on helping me when Niklaus and Kol kills for pleasure? You embrace Elijah's dark side. Why am I so different?"

"Because you're the only one left who's good," she said. The two siblings found their way into the living room, still arguing. "You're the only one left in this family with a shred of decency and you love it. You cherish that goodness and I don't want you to lose that Finn, because I _love_ you. Is that really so hard to believe?"

"After you let Nik keep me in a box for nine centuries?" he asked, turning angrily to her. "By falling in love with the man who killed me?"

"You were trying to kill us at the time!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "And yeah, Nik may have daggered us on and off for a thousand years but again, you tried to kill us all! You have commited crimes against this family at least as bad as Nik."

"If I'm so bad, why do you keep trying to insist that I'm good?" he asked.

"Because you are," she said before sighing. "So stop pretending that you're not."

"Stop pretending that you know me," he exclaimed, angrily. "We've spoken a handful of times over the last 900 years. And clearly blood only means something to you and Elijah and maybe Klaus. Just because we're biologicaly related doesn't make you my sister."

Still mad, he flipped over a table as he turned and stormed out, making Rebekah jump. When he left she tidied up the mess and lying like a plank on top of the covers with her hands linked together over her stomach. Maybe it was progress... last time he had physically hurt her and now he was only flipping over tables. But he had denied the fact that she was even his sister so she didn't get high hopes for improvement.

Maybe she should give up. He clearly didn't want her help or her for that matter. He didn't want her in his life or as his sister. Maybe she should cut her losses and let him be an out-of-control Ripper. What was one more homocidal brother?

She almost sniggered to herself at the thought. Yeah right. Finn was the only sane one left, the only good one, the last one keeping this family from being completely evil. There was no way in Hell she was going to give up on him.

 **Tuesday 17/10**

 **10:27am**

 **The Compound**

Loud music boomed around the Compound, a few vampires dancing like it was a Saturday night and not a Tuesday morning. Kol lounged in a chair near a dining table, tapping his foot as he watched his kingdom party, have fun, relax. They barely got that with Klaus and Kol's war. But Klaus hadn't made a move since he saved Kol from those hybrids.

"You look grumpy," Katherine said. She was sat on the dining table, dressed as skimpily as ever. She had kind of joined Kol's kingdom, hating Klaus a lot more than he did. But instead of being one that he ruled over, she was kind of his partner. His second-in-command. And bloody great company.

"This is my admiration face," Kol said, gesturing to the dance floor. "It has to be a good kingdom of vampires to be partying so hard on a Tuesday morning. Is there reason not to be proud?"

Katherine shrugged and handed him a bottle of tequila they were sharing. "What's Klaus been up to in terms of this war? Elijah hasn't told me if he's planning something, even though I've asked. Maybe he just doesn't know. Or maybe he's just mad about me plotting against his little brother. I don't really know."

"Maybe he should consider it as you helping his other little brother out," Kol shrugged, sipping the tequila. "Klaus and I are sought of ignoring each other at the moment."

Katherine nodded, looking approving. "Good for you."

Kol was about to reply when they heard a knock on the front of the compound door. They both got up simultaneously and walked over, the party quietening down to listen. Kol swung the door open, expecting Klaus or something to come in. Instead, he saw a petite ginger woman with a light shower of freckles over her nose. Nope, not Klaus. "Kol Mikaelson?" she asked.

Kol paused, warily. "Yes...?"

"You called me," she said. "You said you'd pay to get some spell done."

Katherine looked from the witch to Kol. "You're getting witches involved?"

Kol suddenly remembered. A few days ago he had called upon a witch to help him in the war, so he could weaken Klaus when needed. How could he have forgotten that? "Oh yeah," he said. "Yeah, no I wanted your help didn't I?" He paused. Klaus had fought his hybrids away from Kol, he had saved him from another werewolf bite. If that wasn't a sign of peace, what was?

"Well?" the witch asked, pausing. "Don't we have a deal to discuss?"

"Yes," Kol said. "Yeah, come on in. Would you like a coffee, or tea? Or something a little stronger?"

"Water will be fine, thanks," she said. Kol's vampires lead her inside and got her a drink and Katherine turned to Kol.

"What was the hesitation?" she asked.

Kol sighed. "Look, you might get really mad at me but I think I'm close to peace with Klaus. He helped me out of a sticky situation and I think it's coming to an end-"

"Seriously, Kol?" Katherine asked. "Jesus, if I knew you were going to cave so easily I wouldn't have helped in the first place. Klaus destroyed most of your life by keeping you in a box. He's put Rebekah through Hell-"

"Rebekah's forgiven him," Kol pointed out. "Besides Klaus is different. Since Caroline came along anyway. He wouldn't hurt us, not while we're friends with Caroline."

"You shouldn't have to be friends with Caroline to avoid torture from your brother," Katherine pointed out. "Besides didn't he bite you on Caroline's birthday? That was great."

Kol paused, sighing. "Yeah, you're right. As always. But don't I have some obligation to at least try? He _is_ my brother!"

 **Tuesday 17/10**

 **10:02pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Finn walked into the house, having spent the whole day out. He was exhausted and had killed three people, so he was feeling terrible. Rebekah had taken the annoying liberty of hiding the white oak stake along with all of Klaus's daggers so Finn was completely unable to put himself out of his own misery.

Which was especially bad since he only seemed to hurt her. He didn't want to. Of course he didn't wantg to. But he was only going to get worse and worse until he lost himself and he didn't want Rebekah to feel terrible when she lost the fight. He had to make her give up. She had to give up.

He passed her bedroom on the way to his. Appently she was staying with them tonight instead of with Caroline and Katherine. She was curled up on her bed, fast asleep with two little headphones in and her quilt fallen off of her. He rolled his eyes, stopping at her door. She would get cold in the night and wake up and then she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. He treaded very lightly into her room, knowing she was a light sleeper due to being an Original vampire. He draped the quilt carefully across her and pulled her ear phones out, pausing the music coming from her phone.

He left the room completely unaware that he had woken her up. She was about to go back to sleep and hopefully stay that way when her vampire hearing picked up a faint scream coming from the other side or town. A scream.

She jumped out of bed like she had been electrocuted and let her supernatural speed carry her to where the sound was, despite the fact that she was still in her pyjama's. The street she found herself on was very much New Orleans. Orange glow to it with a beautiful night sky over the horizon. She jumped onto a black-railed balcony attatched to one of the buildings and looked down at the scene.

A witch, petite, ginger with a lot of freckles, was performing one of those weakening spells that made her brother, Klaus, scream in pain. "Do it!" the witch yelled. "Now!" Rebekah would have jumped down and ripped out her heart right there, if not for Kol at one end of the street.

She hated seeing Klaus in pain, but she needed to give Kol a chance, a chance to help him, to possibly end the petty feud between them that had turned into a war. Kol should be the one to help and she wanted to hive him a chance to do so. He looked shocked, as if he were surprised at the scene. He was the one the witch was yelling at. But instead of doing anything, Kol turned on his heel and walked away, as if running from the scene.

When he was out of sight, the witch looked afraid, as if she didn't know what to do with Klaus now. If Kol didn't do what he was meant to, the witch was all alone and she couldn't hold Klaus forever.

Rebekah jumped off the balcony and ran over to her, plunging her hand into her chest and ripping out her heart. She dropped to the ground and Klaus stopped screaming. He waited, on all fours for a minute, panting heavily. "What took you so long?" he growled.

"I wanted to give Kol a chance to save you for himself," Rebekah said. "This needs to stop, Nik! You're family! And I'm tired of this family hurting each other! Can't we be happy for five minutes?"

Klaus got to his feet. "I did try to stop it," Klaus said. "I waved my white flag when I saved Kol. He didn't exactly return the favour."

She sighed. "Well he's going to have to. You two are brothers. And when you stand together you are invincible. But now that you've parted and turned against each other, it's only a matter of time before you inevitable, mutual destruction. I will do whatever I can to end this. But it's down to you and Kol. And Elijah, Finn and I don't want to end up being casualties of this battle. Which we will be, probably along with Caroline and Katherine, if the two of you continue."

* * *

 **So this story is coming to an end. Really, we have three chapters to go. They may or may not be up within the next week, depending.**

 **More Koltherine next chapter as well as some Klatherine, for fans of that.**

 **Please review and let me know what you think -Izzy**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hey! Remember me? Yeah, I know, I took forever to update. My mother used my computer and tried to clear space by deleting this. She didn't really know what the document was since it was marked on my computer as 'thing'. Luckily I only had three un-published chapters, this being one of them, but I felt really uninspired to write them again.  
**

 **Overall, I'm not sure about this chapter, but let me know what you think. Thank you for all the reviews. Even the negative ones. I mean, they're all probably right, but oh well. Anyway, sorry again for the wait. :D - Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-SIX**

 **Thursday 19/10**

 **11:54pm**

 **Roseau**

Rebekah, Caroline and Katherine clinked shot glasses and took another. They had made a drinking game out of the night time News Channel: when the reporter said 'So, yeah' they took a drink. She did it a lot, so the girls were pretty tipsy and full of laughter.

"What are we doing?" Rebekah ended up saying, her head falling into one of her hands. "Mikael's still on the loose, planning God knows what. Celeste's still about. She hasn't shown her face in a while, but she's still there. Finn's being a douchebag, Klaus and Kol are at war and we're at a bar getting drunk on a Thursday night?"

"Brilliant," Katherine said. "During the dark times, there is always liquor. Another round of shots? On me!" When she said 'on me' she meant, 'I'll compel the bartender to give them to us for free this time'.

Caroline checked her phone for the time. "Shit," she said, jumping to her feet. "I have to go."

"Why?" Katherine whined. "It's not even midnight yet!"

"I have college in the morning," Caroline defended, jumping off the barstool and getting her bag. "I don't want to be too hung over. You guys have fun though."

There was a pause before Rebekah and Katherine exchanged looks. "Is she being weird?" Katherine asked, noting Caroline's leave. She could usually stay out until sunrise, even _with_ college in the morning.

Rebekah nodded. "She's being wierd," she confirmed. The bartender bought over three new shots and Rebekah downed hers. "Should we follow her?" she asked.

Katherine paused, taking her own shot and thinking. "Eh, why not? Got nothing better to do?"

"That's because you're not single," Rebekah shrugged, spinning on her chair and pointing to a man across the room. "For example, I could do him."

Katherine looked over a sniggered. "He's like eighty, and you're drunk," Katherine laughed, getting out of her seat and dragging Rebekah up as well. "Come on, let's go follow Caroline."

Since the two older vampires were close to flat-ot drunk, it wasn't too easy for them to follow Caroline. That was when they weren't getting distracted by scary halloween decorations in shop windows, or the extreme importance of guessing the ages of strangers. "It's so bright," Katherine said in awe at one point, staring amazed at something.

"Ofr course it's bright, it's a bloody headlight," Rebekah said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along.

Then there were the creeps who kept coming up to them, thinking two pretty drunk girls would be easy targets. Rebekah had a lot of fun seeing how far she could throw them each time. After all that, they sought of lost Caroline in the crowd. "Ah well," Katherine said. "She might be at home."

"I'm going back to the big house," Rebekah said, drunkenly. "Go to the apartment and tell me if Caroline is there."

"How am I supposed to tell you if we're in different houses?" Katherine asked, as if Rebekah was being an idiot.

"That why God gave us phones," Rebekah said, holding hers up and wiggling it in front of Katherine. "You're so pissed."

They split up, both going to different homes. Katherine sighed, starting to sober up as she stumbled down the street. That was the most annoying part of being a vampire. She sobered up almost instantly, and in no time, she was walking straighter than ever. But when she walked past an alleyway behind Roseau, she stopped walking and sobered up straight away.

"-a plan, he's just not telling you," Mikael was saying. "You need to actually ask him about it, sweetheart, not just wait for him to tell you. Ask him what you can do to help, actually get some information for me this time instead of coming up blank."

"Klaus is more obsessed with Kol than he is with you," Caroline said. "He's going to fix that relationship before even thinking about plotting against you. He's got too much on his mind! And don't you dare call me _sweetheart_!"

"Miss Forbes-" Mikael started.

"No, I gave you the white-oak-stake," Caroline said. "So I have no idea why you're obsessing over a plan that Klaus doesn't even have! I tried, okay?"

"Well try harder," Mikael said. "I'll see you here this time tomorrow. Do not disapoint me."

 **Friday 20/10**

 **Noon**

 **The Apartment**

Katherine had been listening to Kol drone on about Klaus for over an hour now. She was starting to wonder if she should break out another bottle of wine or something. It was the morning after she caught Caroline working with Mikael and she hadn't said anything about it. She wasn't about to run off and tell the originals, who would most likely kill her for plotting against them.

She had grown to quite like Caroline and she wasn't about to get her killed. But she couldn't help but wonder if that was all she was in New Orleans for. To work with Mikael and to take down the Mikaelsons.

But at the same time, she was not about to let Caroline kill Elijah. No way in Hell. She was not going to harm a hair on Rebekah's head, she was not going to think about plotting against Kol. Katherine had even began to like Finn as well. Katherine sighed. Great. She actually cared about the morons. Well, most of them at least.

About five minutes passed and Katherine realised that Kol was still talking. "Should I have saved him though?" he was asking. Katherine paused before remembering the incident a couple nights ago, where Kol had walked away from Klaus who had been attacked by Kol's witch.

Katherine shrugged. "I don't know, Kol. You're a grown man, do whatever you want."

Kol raised an eyebrow. "Yesterday you were all about fighting Klaus. Now what? You don't care? What happened?"

Katherine shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "I just have a lot on my mind right now." _Like you and your safety as well as the safety of Caroline, Elijah, Rebekah and Finn. Apparently I care now._

"What did Elijah do now?" Kol asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Nothing," Katherine sighed, annoyed that he just jumped to that conclusion. "He's... perfect. It's something else."

"What then?" Kol asked.

There was another pause. "Mikael," Katherine said. "He's been alive for God knows how long now and we haven't killed him yet. Can we just go and drive the white-oak-stake through his heart?"

Kol narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me you're afraid of Mikael?"

"I'm not afraid," Katherine said. "I'm annoyed. He's annoying. I want to kill him. Let's go!"

"Did you speak to him?" he asked. "What happened? What did he say?"

Katherine rolled her eyes and groaned. "I didn't speak to him! But he's planning on killing you, who I actually kind of like, as well as the love of my life. And Rebekah, one of my best friends and I'm also starting to like Finn. Plus, he wants to kill Klaus that will kill Caroline via sire line. Oh, and if Elijah dies, I do as well. So excuse me for wanting to kill him before he gets the chance."

"Okay, fine," Kol said. "But attacking him would take some sought of planning among my siblings and we're all a little bit too concerned with the war between me and Klaus to focus on Mikael right now."

Katherine opened here mouth to reply but she didn't say anything. Instead she just went to get more alcohol.

 **Friday 20/10**

 **11:40pm**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Caroline lay next to Klaus in his bed and sighed. She would have to get up in a second, find her clothes, go out and meet Mikael. His compulsion was already forcing her to sit up and look around the pitch black bedroom.

Pitch black. That was a funny phrase. It wasn't really pitch black, she could see everything inside it. But it was eerily dark. Like the alleyway she was going to, where she met the man who forced her to help him kill the love of her life and some of the most amazing friends she had ever had. Including the ones back home. She was going to help kill Klaus, which would kill Stefan, Elena, Tyler, Damon, Bonnie's mother.

Being a vampire had made her feel strong and invinsible, but now she had never felt more weak. All because she had underestimated what really hid in the dark.

"Caroline?" Klaus asked, sitting up next to her. "What's wrong, Love?"

Caroline refused to let her eyes tear up at the thought of killing everyone she loved. She didn't need anybody seeing her cry, not that night. She had to be a strong as she could possibly be. "I used to be so afraid of the dark," she said. "When I was a little girl, I mean. And when I finally got over that fear, I was so proud of myself. But now I know that being afraid of the dark is the only thing that makes sense. There's so many places to hide, so many things you don't want to see. And you're only safe if you're scared enough to stay away."

"What are you talking about?" Klaus asked, his voice full of concern.

She just turned to him and forced a smile. "What are you going to do about Mikael?" she asked, innocently. He had compelled her to get something out of him and she tried so hard not to ask.

"Are you afraid of him?" Klaus asked.

Caroline thought about saying no, and lying. But Mikael could kill Klaus any day now, and she didn't want one of the last things she ever said to him to be a lie. Slowly she just nodded. "Yes," she whispered. Klaus wrapped one of his arms around her and kissed her cheek.

"You shouldn't be," he said. "I'm not going to let Mikael hurt you." The promise meant nothing to her. She wished it had meant something.

"But what's the plan?" she insisted. "What are you going to do about him?"

He shrugged. "Once I make up with Kol, and my siblings unite again, we'll take the white-oak-stake and trap him. Kill him. Elijah's more invested in killing Celeste at the moment. Kol's more invested in killing me."

"Kol doesn't want to kill you," Caroline said. "Kol loves you, Klaus."

There was a pause before she kissed him. She stood up and found her clothes. "Where are you going, Love?" he asked.

"Out," she said. "I just remembered that I have an essay to finish before tomorrow, so I should probably get going."

She knew Klaus was confused but she ran out before he could ask questions.

 **Saturday 21/10**

 **00:29am**

 **The Mikaelson Mansion**

Rebekah had started to feel like she was repeating the same few days over and over again. She would try to help Finn, he would push her away, he would kill someone, she would never be able to help him. But she was never going to give up. He was her brother, and she wasn't going to give up on any of her brothers ever again. She waited up for him, waited for him to come home and when he didn't she went to go and find him.

She walked through the streets of New Orleans, several things apart from Finn on her mind. Kol and Klaus had come to a mutual stand still, hopefully their silly argument in disguise as a war, was coming to an end. Which was good. She couldn't stand the idea of two of her brothers tearing each other apart. She had made the decision that if they started fighting again, she would gain control of both of their armies and take New Orleans for herself.

Celeste and Mikael were still out there, plotting something or another. She was always on the edge, looking over her shoulder all of the time to try and catch them, just in case they attacked. And she thought it was reckless of herself and her brothers not to plan anything to take them out. But they were all focused on getting Kol and Klaus to get over their differences, and Rebekah was focused on getting Finn back to his usual self.

When she finally found him, he was walking towards the border of New Orleans, not a single peice of luggage on him, but still looking as though he was prepared to leave. "Finn," she called after him, jogging up the deserted street to meet him. "Don't tell me you're leaving?"

He shrugged half heartedly. "It's something I've been thinking about. I never wanted you to see me out of control, but you did. And I don't want Kol, Klaus or Elijah to, if I can help it."

"See, this is why I don't follow in your footsteps," she said, gesturing to him, sighing to herself. "You're a quitter, Finn! You always have been. You didn't try to redeem your family in Mystic Falls, you tried to kill them. You're not trying to redeem yourself, you're quitting on yourself. What you're doing is wrong, you know."

"Of course I know," he growled, remembering every face he had killed over the last few weeks.

"I'm not talking about killing people," Rebekah said. "We all lose control, we all kill. It happens to the best of us – as evidenced by the fact that it's happening to you. I'm talking about pushing me away, refusing to get help. Out of all of us, I never pegged you to be the one who was so selfish."

"I don't care if you think of me as selfish, Rebekah," he said. "I can assure you that this whole darkness is killing me more than you."

"I doubt that," Rebekah snarled. "Watching someone you love fold themselves with despair is a tradgedy."

"If you think you can change me, you're so very wrong," he said. "You're determination is admirable-"

"Determination?" she explained. "Do you think I want to be here? The only mess I want to be in is my own! At least then I know how to clean it. But you're my brother. And I've never seen someone less satisfied with their actions. You were under a curse when this whole thing started, Finn. You can't be held responsible! You were hardly even there!"

He paused. "I still did those things."

"And you feel bad about it," she said. "That's what matters! You're the last good person in this family! I'm not going to let you quit now, okay? Because we need you! In case you didn't notice, Mikael's alive. He's kind of working with Celeste and we're pretty sure they plan on killing us any day now! Kol and Klaus are at each others throats! I'm in pain watching you think you don't deserve happiness! We're all broken and we all need our big brother! So if you think that quitting on us, that leaving us is the best option here, then we seriously need to talk about your life choices."

"Rebekah," he paused. "I could never have the determination you have. Maybe if I did then I could help myself."

She paused before slapping him, almost as hard as she could. He didn't seem like his family meant a thing to him. "You can help yourself! You're a simple case Finn. You have time to redeem yourself. But the path you're going down? The quitting path? I don't see any redemption there."

He looked at her, ignoring the slightly red mark on his cheek. "I don't want to be saved."

"Yes you do!" she insisted. She had never thought she would have this conversation with Finn, of all people. "I know you."

There was another long pause. "You do?" he asked. "Because lately, I don't."

"Well if you really don't," she sighed, beginning to feel like maybe there was hope, "then go. Leave." She gestured to the end of the road the stood in, where New Orleans ended. Finn just stared at her blankly. "Well? I'm letting you go free. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"No, of course it's not-"

"Isn't it?" she asked. "Because now, I'm giving you a choice. You can stay and let me help you. Or get out of my city. Because I don't want to deal with a quitter for a brother anymore."

"Some things are more important here than what you want," he said.

"Not to me," she lied. "Now go! Or stay and let me help you!"

He sighed. "I'm not going anywhere," he answered. "If you insist then... fine. Fine, I want to be saved. But don't you ever wonder if I'm hopeless?"

"I think the fact that you still wonder," she whispered, "means that you aren't."

* * *

 **I don't know if you guys remember, but I promised some Klatherine this chapter, which clearly I did not deliver. I will write something in next chapter and I apologise.**

 **Please review! -Izzy**


	27. Chapter 27

**Okay, so this chapter's a little tiny. Sorry about that, but I literally just finished it. And started it a couple of hours ago. Next chapter is the LAST CHAPTER of this story and I'm super excited. I will be writing a sequel because um, I like this story, I like writing it and want to continue it. Engames of that story will include Klaroline, Kalijah, Sinn, Kennett and either Mabekah or Stebekah, depending on you guys, really. There will also be a bunch of little ships including Klatherine, Koltherine, possibly some Klonnie or Stefonnie (probably Stefonnie). Any other little ships you want included, please let me know in the reviews. That story will most likely not be up until 2016 or at least late December but the last chapter of this story should be up within the next week. Love you guys, and thank you so much for your continued support. - Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN**

 **Saturday 21/10**

 **11:34pm**

 **The Apartment**

Katherine lay awake in bed, unable to sleep. The last couple nights, she had been tracking Caroline, watching everything she did. And every night at Midnight, she'd go and meet up with Mikael in the alleyway behind Roseau. So Katherine just lay awake, waiting for Caroline to leave.

She looked over next to her, where Elijah was out cold. She knew this one little trick that put him to sleep immediately after, which usually pissed her off. But hey, sometimes it was necassary. She had already written a little note on her bedside table, telling him she had gone out. So when she heard Caroline close the front door, Katherine slipped out of bed.

She didn't put her heels on until she was in the lobby of the apartment block, as to not wake up Elijah. She didn't need him following her. Hey, she didn't need any of this, and she had no idea what to do about it. She had never really cared about anyone before. Well, she had cared about her family, the Salvatore brothers, and she had cared about Elijah for 500 years. But she had never cared about a group of people so much that when they were close to being divided, she couldn't choose who to save.

She saw Caroline's blonde head walking down the street and Katherine followed her for a couple of blocks, not knowing when to approach her, or what to say when she did so. Eventually, Caroline's baby-vampire hearing must have picked up Katherine, because she found herself flying against the wall and Caroline suspending her off the floor by her throat.

"Katherine?" Caroline asked after hissing at her, her vampire face shrinking away. She let Katherine go and looked at her, confused. "Why the hell are you following me?"

"To stop you from seeing Mikael," Katherine said. Caroline looked shocked and Katherine just nodded. "That's right, I know."

"It's not what you think," Caroline said. "It's... complicated."

Katherine paused, giving Caroline a look that would scare even Klaus, but Caroline didn't even flinch. She new Katherine better than that. She wasn't afraid of her – not anymore. "So complicated you would rather let me continue to think what I have in mind?" Katherine said. "Because right now, I've got nothing to assume but the worst!"

"Katherine-"

"Are you working with Mikael then?" Katherine said. "Trying to take down the Originals? Is that why you came to New Orleans in the first place, Caroline?!"

"No!" she exclaimed. "No of course not! Look, it's not like my friends in Mystic Falls sent me here to get close to and kill Klaus. I know that's what you're thinking, but it's not true!"

"I don't care what you do to Klaus," Katherine said. "I really don't. But I do care about Rebekah. Surprisingly the two of us have become friends. And I've never had a friend like Kol, okay? And I've even grown close to Finn."

"Katherine-"

"I may love you, Care," Katherine interrupted. "But if I found out that you're not actually my friend, just a backstabbing bitch, I will have no problem taking you out. I dare you to even think about hurting Elijah-"

" _Katherine_!" Caroline interrupted. "Okay, it's not like that! Hurting Elijah, and Klaus and the others is the last thing I want to do."

"Then tell me that you're a spy or something," Katherine said. "Tell me that Klaus was stupid enough to set you up to this. Tell me that there's more to this story, okay? Please?"

Katherine hated how desperate she sounded. Because she would secretly hate having to hurt Caroline, even if it was to save Elijah and Rebekah and the others.

"There is more," Caroline whispered. "I am a spy but... Not for Klaus."

Katherine paused, nodding. "So you are working for Mikael?"

"I guess I am," Caroline gulped. "Yeah. But I can't tell you why."

Katherine narrowed her eyes, hearing the choke in Caroline's voice. She genuinly didn't want to be out there that night, visiting Mikael. And the puzzle peices finally clicked into place. "You've been compelled."

Caroline made a small choking sound. "No," she spat out.

"Yes you have," Katherine said. She grabbed Caroline's hand. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"Kat," Caroline interrupted. "I have to go. I'll be forced to meet him and nothing can stand in my way or... I'll destroy it."

"Was that a death threat?" Katherine asked, before sniggering. "Cute." It took her less than two seconds to snap Caroline's neck. Yes, Caroline was officially stronger than her, since Katherine's second transformation. But after surviving against all odds for 500 years, she was pretty good at physical combat.

"Hm," said a voice behind her. She turned to face the source of all her problems, Mikael. "Good work. I wondered who would figure it out first. That I compelled sweet little Caroline over here. Originally I wanted you to be my spy. More hatred towards Klaus, more experience, better at hiding it."

"I'm hyped up on Vervain," Katherine said. "And betraying my friends is getting a little old."

Mikael nodded, thinking for a minute. "You know the thing about people like us, Katerina?" he asked. "We create each other. I created Klaus to be exactly like me, which is what he later did to you. So who are you going to break? Caroline?"

Katherine rolled her eyes. She didn't want to be there. She wanted to get Caroline home and put her on vervain or something. She wondered if Mikael would try to stop her if she left. Probably. But that begged the question: "What do you want, Mikael?"

"I already told you," he said. "I wanted you originally. I already have sweet little Caroline now, but imagine what I could do with, not only Celeste by my side, but two completely loyal vampires who are already on the inside?"

Katherine was about to say something but before she could even open her mouth, her neck was snapped and she fell to the ground next to Caroline.

 **Sunday 22/10**

 **02:34am**

 **Church**

When Katherine came to, the first thing she hear was high heels clicking on the floor, and vaguely she wondered if she was walking. Then she came to her senses and realised that of course it wasn't her.

She was actually hanging upside down in the church Davina used to stay in, up by the alter with chains wrapped around her ankles. She tried to pull free but they must have been laced with something because they were stronger than her. She grunted a little as she tugged at them. She felt the blood rushing to her head, giving her a massive headache.

"Katherine," she heard near her. She looked to one side, where Caroline was lying on the floor, also chained up but not upside-down. "She's on the phone."

Katherine was about to ask who, but she saw Celeste, pacing to and fro as she argued with someone on the other line. "Hey, bitch!" Katherine called to her. "What's going on?"

Celeste just ignored her. "She told me the same thing," Caroline sighed. She looked weak. "Klaus and Elijah won't find us, it's only like... 2:30 in the morning? By the time they realise we're gone, it'll be too late."

"Too late for what?" Katherine asked.

Caroline shrugged. "I wish I knew," she said. "Did Mikael say anything?"

"He said," Katherine sighed, thinking. "I don't know. Something along the lines of having two... completely loyal spies?"

Caroline nodded. "And they're hanging you upside-down because you're full of vervain," she nodded. "Celeste's probably going to drain you of it."

"And then Mikael's going to compel us," Katherine said. "To do what? To spy for him?"

Caroline shook her head. "I don't think so," she said. "Even then, we will never be completely loyal. Look Kat, I'm sorry, okay?"

"For what?" she asked.

"For everything," Caroline replied. "For letting Mikael compel me in the first place."

"Well I'm sorry I didn't get you out of there before he got me," Katherine said. "We'll be fine, Caroline, so shut up, will you?"

Caroline just smirked. "You said something before. _I will have no problem taking you out_. Even if I was working against the Originals... did you really mean that?"

"No, of course I didn't," Katherine said, surprising even herself. She remembered when she first met Caroline, used her as her own spy. She never dreamed that one day she would care about whether or not she lived or died. That wasn't Katherine Pierce. That was Katerina Petrova, the tiny bit of her that was still alive. "I love you, Care," Katherine said. "No matter what you do, you and Rebekah are my best friends."

Caroline paused. "Kind of wish Rebekah was here now," Caroline said. "She could bust us out with all her Original Ninja moves. By the way, I love you too."

"You did not just call Rebekah an Original Ninja," Katherine said.

"I did," Caroline said, looking confused. "I didn't mean to."

They ceased their conversation when Celeste walked up to Katherine and sneered down at her. She had hung up the phone and was holding a knife in her hand. "I've wanted to do this for so long," Celeste smirked.

"What, cut me up?" Katherine asked. "Get in line."

Celeste just shook her head. "No. Punish you. You totally brainwashed Elijah, pulled him away from me."

Katherine paused. "You're so obsessed," Katherine said. "You need to chill, okay? Elijah's a grown man and he can make his own decisions. And he chose me. Get over it."

Celeste stabbed her in the stomach and sliced the knife along, making a deep, long cut. "Stop it!" Caroline called out, making a motion as if trying to get to Katherine, but her own chains holding her back. "Celeste, you're clearly the homewrecker in this love triangle!"

Katherine's blood poured down her upside-down body and over her face. Katherine flinched away from it and growled at Celeste. "Slut," she said.

Celeste crouched down so she was near Katherine's face and sliced her cheek. "I don't know why your friend could possibly think that," she whispered. "Elijah loved me for me. You? He will never stop trying to change you into something you're not. You're a project to him, Katerina. I'm the real deal. And one day, he will come to his senses and realise that."

Katherine responded by spitting blood in Celeste's face, surprisingly something she had done to many people. Celeste wiped her face off before returning to her work. Caroline sat, kicking and screaming, as she watched Celeste cut up her best friend, draining the vervain from her blood. Watching her best friend get tortured, and wondering why, with their supernatural hearing, none of the Originals heard her crying out for help.

* * *

 **Thank you all so much for favouriting and following (almost at 100 :D) it means so much to me, as do all of the reviews I get. I started this story a little over a year ago but only published it a few months ago, and it was the first story I published, so it's quite sad to see it come to an end.  
**

 **Please review! -Izzy**


	28. Chapter 28

**WOOHOO WE GOT 100 FOLLOWERS**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who's followed/favourited, it means so much to me! And of course, for reviewing. After last chapter, I woke up to 7 new reviews and I was overjoyed to read them all and they made me smile so much. Thank you all for saying such kind things and for being super supportive and sweet and I love love love you all. Klatherine is Klaus/Katherine btw. I can probably work in some Steferine but Damon (along with Elena) is not going to be in the sequel. Thank you all so much!- Izzy**

* * *

 **Chapter TWENTY-EIGHT**

 **Sunday 22/10**

 **Noon**

 **Mikaelson Mansion**

Klaus had started pacing by the time Kol and Elijah walked in. Rebekah and Finn were sat on the couches, on their phones, trying to get through to Katherine and Caroline. "Any luck?" Klaus asked, turning to Elijah and Kol.

"We covered all of the usual spots," Elijah said. "Their apartment is empty, nobody in Roseau has seen them-"

"I have my vampires patrolling the streets to search for them," Kol said. "They should finish covering New Orleans in less than 10 minutes."

"Funny," Klaus said. "I have my hybrids doing the same. Perhaps we should send them to different areas of the city to avoid mutual massacres on each side."

Kol nodded, bringing out his phone and making a call. "Max," he said to his third-in-command. "Order the others to stay in the French Quarter, Treme, Esplanade Ridge, Lakeview, Mid-City and the Garden district."

Klaus sent a text to his hybrids, ordering them to stay where Kol's vampires weren't, Marigny Bywater, Ninth Ward and Algiers.

"I've left them both a thousand messages," Rebekah sighed. "They're not replying, and they never ignore me. Something's happened."

"Mikael," Finn nodded. "It has to be."

Klaus nodded. "I'm sure it is him. But if he has taken Caroline, it'll be the last mistake he will ever make." He started marching out of the house, his siblings behind him.

They all ran to the church, using their vampire speed to get there within seconds. Kol was about to kick the door down when it opened and Celeste walked out, to bravely face them all. "You look confident," Rebekah said.

Celeste started by twisting her hand, once again making Rebekah fall to her knees, being controlled by an aneurysm spell. All brothers ran for Celeste but Elijah got there first. He grabbed his ex by her throat and slammed her so hard against the wall of the church that it broke a little, smashing some of the bricks as well had breaking a good amount of Celeste's bones, making her lose focus on Rebekah, who's pain quickly stopped.

"Where is Katerina?" Elijah demanded, glaring at Celeste. He broke his concentration for a second to look behind him, checking Rebekah was all right. Kol and Finn pulled theire sister to her feet and Elijah turned back to Celeste. "Is she inside?"

"Oh Elijah," Celeste groaned, almost crying out in pain. "I'm going to die anyway, so it might as well be you who finishes me off. How poetic is that?"

"What have you done to her?" Elijah demanded, his vampire face creeping up on him, so rarely seen.

"You won't like it," Celeste said. "Elijah Mikaelson, if I'm going to give you one last piece of advice: Let. Katerina. Die."

Before she could say anything else, Elijah's hand ripped through her skin and grabbed her heart, pulling it from her chest. She fell to the ground and Elijah felt no remorse, no sadness. He dropped the heart on top of her and burst into the church.

The siblings walked, side-by-side into the main room of the church, in the aisle between the seats. They looked up at the alter. Nobody else was in the room but there were chains hanging from the ceiling, as if someone had hung upside down. There were chains on the floor in the corner as well and both traps were abandoned. There was gallons of blood soaked into the carpet though.

" _MIKAEL_?!" Klaus yelled at the top of his lungs. " _SHOW YOURSELF_!"

"Now, now," Mikael said as he walked in through a side door, stopping at the alter and facing all five of the Originals. "I don't remember raising you to be so loud and disruptive."

"Where is Caroline?" Klaus demanded.

"And Katherine?" Kol added before Elijah could.

Mikael shrugged. "They're around here somewhere," he said. "I'm sure they'll come out to play eventually."

"How calmly you face us," Rebekah said. "How deluded you must be to think you're leaving this church alive."

"Believe me, Rebekah," he said. "I have no delusions." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the white-oak-stake, twisting it in his hands and admiring it.

"How did you get that?" Elijah asked, believing, like all of his siblings, that the stake was at their home, in the safe.

"Dear Caroline gave it to me," Mikael said. "She's been working with me for a little while now." Finn turned to Klaus, who's jaw had dropped in shock. "Under my compulsion of course," Mikael added.

"So what?" Finn asked. "Your plan is to single-handedly take out all five of us?"

Mikael sighed. "I was counting on too many things when I came back. I was counting on Finn joining me and helping my cause. I was counting on Celeste being more powerful as a witch that she actually is. Or was, I should say." He turned to Elijah. "I am sorry that you had to kill someone you once loved. Believe me, I know what that feels like."

"You don't know the meaning of the word," Elijah replied.

Mikael just rolled his eyes. "I do, you know. In answer to your enquiry, Rebekah, I have no delusions of walking out of here alive. I do intend of taking at least Niklaus out before the lights go out. But... When all five of you stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance?"

"Where is Caroline and Katherine?" Klaus growled, his hybrid face sneaking up on him, like Elijah's vampire one.

"Dear Gods," he heard a voice say. Caroline walked through the side door and stood by Mikael's side, her hands on her hips as she face Klaus. "I'm right here, no need to be so angry."

Klaus paused, narrowing his eyes. He expected her to be tied up, or at least in pain. He didn't expect her to be so calm and collected and confident by Mikael's side. He didn't expect her to be by Mikael's side. Was she still compelled? If she was, why wasn't she upset about it?

"You see," Mikael said, "with all of my plans destroyed I needed some sought of ally. Even compelled to do what I asked her to, Caroline was searching for a way to work against me. I couldn't have that, I needed loyalty."

"Caroline, Love," Klaus said. "What did you do?"

Caroline had her arms crossed and she just shrugged a shoulder and smirked at him.

"I thought about what I could do to make her, and Katerina, loyal," Mikael said. "They stood by your sides because they loved you. So I took that away from them. I compelled her not to love you. I compelled her to-"

"To turn it off," Rebekah whispered. "We'll just compel her to turn it on again."

"Oh, well I'm on vervain now," Caroline said.

"We'll drain it out of you," Kol said.

Caroline was about to reply when another voice spoke from behind them. "Speaking of vervain," Katherine said. They all turned to her as she activated two vervain grenades and threw them at the Mikaelsons, managing to soak all of them in the poison. They all ducked instinctively and covered their faces, hissing at her.

Caroline pulled out a crossbow full of wooden stakes and started firing, reaching her target every time. Klaus's hand, Finn's leg, Rebekah's neck. For the second that Katherine was unarmed, Kol ran at her, but she broke off wood from a bench and stabbed him in the heart with it. She had been much to fast for him to stop and he fell to his knees, his skin turning grey as he died.

All fangs were out as Klaus and Finn charged at Mikael. Rebekah ran to Caroline and snatched the crossbow out of her hands, smacking her in the face with it. Elijah grabbed Katherine as she ran at Rebekah. He pushed her into a nearby wall. "You too?" he asked.

"Of course," she grinned, exposing her fangs. "I'm Mikael's favourite."

Elijah reached out to snap her neck but he was tackled by Caroline, who had freed herself from Rebekah.

Up near the alter, Finn and Klaus had attacked Mikael. Klaus had gone for Mikael's heart, and Mikael had stabbed him once with the white-oak-stake. Thankfully Klaus ducked and Mikael only got his shoulder.

Finn grabbed Mikael's arm – the one he held the stake in – and twisted it until he let go of it. Mikael turned and tried to punch Finn with his other arm but Finn ducked and ran behind Mikael, grabbing both of his arms and pulling them behind him, exposing his chest.

Klaus picked up the stake and hesitated. "What are you waiting for?" Finn growled. "Do it!"

Elijah growled at Caroline after the two of them got to their feet. Rebekah ran up and grabbed Katherine, holding her arms behind her back. Katherine tried to wiggle free as she and Rebekah watched as Elijah ran at Caroline.

Caroline was prepared. She had taken one of the stakes from the crossbow and hid it up her sleeve. When Elijah ran at her, she whipped it out and plunged it into his chest before he could acknowledge that she had it. He fell down, like Kol had and Caroline turned to Rebekah.

Rebekah strapped Katherine's arms down with just one arm and the Original made a grab for Caroline. But she didn't go for the arms and Caroline reached up to snap her neck, knocking her unconscious.

Katherine and Caroline grabbed at each other and looked up at the alter, at the commotion between Finn, Klaus and Mikael. "Run," Katherine said, grabbing Caroline and making a turn for the door.

"But Mikael-" Caroline argued.

"We can bring him back," Katherine said. "If we go up there, we die. We got lucky with Elijah and Rebekah. And Kol. Caroline we need to leave. I will go without you!"

Caroline paused before realising that Katherine was her only chance of survival. They ran out of the church as fast as they could.

Up near the alter, Klaus stabbed Mikael in the heart with the white-oak-stake, watching his father die. It wasn't memorable, or special, like it usually would be if any child killed their parent. Klaus had bigger things on his mind than asking Mikael why he never love him.

Finn put a hand on Klaus's shoulder as the two of them turned to see Elijah, Rebekah and Kol lying dead and Caroline and Katherine missing. Well, after 500 years of survival, Katherine Pierce had to have a couple of good tricks up her sleeve. "Where are they?" Klaus demanded, walking down the aisle.

"You go and look for them," Finn said. "I'll get these three home."

Klaus looked at his brother and nodded before rushing out of the church and looking up and down the street. They were no where to be seen so he let his other senses take over. He didn't hear a thing that remotely sounded like them. Whether that was because they were staying quite or because the noise of New Orleans blocked them out. He tried to find their scents. He did find two trails of perfume and blood that smelled like them.

He ran off, following the trail with his hybrid speed. He was a lot faster than them, so he should catch up with them. When the trail ended, he came to a hault and looked around himself, in the abandoned alleyway he stood in. They were no where to be seen.

He looked around, behind dustbins, but all he found were two Victorian Dolls, one brunette and one blonde.

It was probably Katherine that set that up, before Klaus and his siblings had even arrived at the church, to make them follow the wrong scent. The girls could be anywhere by then, emotionless and running.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Yes, Klaus was mad. Kol, Elijah and Rebekah, with the joint strength of three Originals, let two baby vampire over power them. How did that even happen? The element of surprise could only go so far. As well as the fact that they were holding back out of fear of hurting their loved ones.

They had let Caroline escape, the love of his life get away, so yes, he was mad.

But their necks had been snapped or their hearts had been pierced and he understood the fact that they were in pain, that they didn't want to let them go. Klaus also realised the fact that Elijah had lost the love of his life as well, also emotionless. So yes, he was mad. But he wasn't mad enough to take it out on them.

Rebekah woke up first. Her neck had only been snapped, so she wasn't dead like the others. Finn had sat by her side and Klaus got the feeling that those two had become rather close over the past couple weeks. They went in to wait for Elijah to wake up.

Klaus, however, sat by Kol's bedside, waiting for his younger brother to awake. He had taken the stake out of his heart and requested not to be disturbed by their other siblings. They had all obliged, but he knew they were listening in for signs of trouble, including daggers.

When Kol finally woke up, he noticed Klaus and raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you sat by my bedside waiting for me to wake," Kol said. Klaus didn't say anything and Kol almost laughed. "I was beginning to think you didn't care anymore."

"We may quarrel," Klaus said, after a pause. "But you are my brother, and I will never love you any less."

Kol smirked. "You can have New Orleans, Klaus. I quit, you win."

"I already quit," Klaus said. "My hybrids have been ordered to leave you and your vampires alone."

Kol looked up. "Okay, you win at quitting. Can't we just have our own armies and leave New Orleans alone?"

"We're going to have to," Klaus said. "Katherine and Caroline made a run for it. We'll have to go after them but we don't know where they are now. And Katherine is involved which means... we could be looking for them for a good five centuries."

Kol laughed. "We'll get them before then." He got to his feet and so did Klaus. They faced each other for a minute before shaking hands. No hugging or crying or anything poetic. Just a hand shake, to call a truce.

Downstairs Elijah sat on a couch with a glass of scotch in his hand. Rebekah stood by the fireplace and Finn lounged in an armchair, waiting for Kol and Klaus to come downstairs. "What's the plan?"

Klaus wanted to march out and scour the Earth looking for Caroline, but his siblings anchored him to reality and made him think of a logical plan. It's quite strange what The Anchor of Family could do.

"We find them," Kol said. "We will find them."

Elijah looked up, clearly doubtful. It _had_ taken the five centuries to find Katerina before. "Whatever it takes," Elijah said.

"However long it takes," Klaus added.

"If we're going to find them," Finn said. "We need to stop fighting among each other."

Rebekah actually smirked. "Finn's right. We need to stick together as one. Always and Forever."

* * *

 **It's so sad seeing this story come to an end. Sorry if that last scene was cheesey af. I can't wait to see you all in the New Year. Publish date will be posted on my profile nearer to Christmas. Happy Holidays everyone for when they come around and I can't wait to publish the next one.  
**

 **Please review! -Izzy**


	29. Sequel Notice

Hey everyone! So I promised you a sequel and I'm happy to say it's officially published! Go check it out, it's called 'An Eternal Gift'.

I was going to include Mabekah, but over these last few months I unfortunately fell out of touch with that beautiful ship, which is a massive shame. The endgames of the fanfiction are Klaroline and Kalijah (obviously), Stebekah, Kennett and Fage/Sinn.

There will also be some of the minor ships that you guys requested and hopefully I'll fit in as many as possible.

It's also going to be big on BroTP's. Like Klefan, Katholine, Katbekah, Baroline, Bonbekah, Steroline, Stefonnie, Carolijah, Batherine, Rebekoline and pretty much everything I can make out of these characters.

Oh, and Enzo is in it because he's pretty cool.

So yeah, I thought I'd publish something here just to let you guys know it's out. Please go see it and let me know what you think.

Always and Forever yours, Izzy.


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